Winter in the Country. Getting Ice

"Winter in the Country. Getting Ice." illustrates the harsh, yet beautiful, landscape of a New England winter. White painted highlights on the trees and in the foreground help create a frosty scene on a cold winter's day. The image was adapted from a painting by George Durrie, a Connecticut artist known for landscapes set in his native state. Here, a number of men cut chunks of ice from a frozen lake and load the blocks onto a waiting horse-drawn cart. The building at the left may be an ice shed, a place where the ice, packed in straw or sawdust, was stored for several months. During this period, prior to refrigeration, ice was a necessary commodity and farmers supplemented their income during the slow winter season by selling the packed ice chunks to businesses in nearby cities. The dog, who has been provided with a blanket to sit on, adds a sense of hominess and comfort to the scene, trademarks of the Currier & Ives firm.

Date: 1864

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