Julian Walbridge Rix (1850-1903)
Landscape with Figures
Oil on canvas, 26 x 36 in.

Nationally known for his atmospheric landscapes, Julian Rix first established his reputation as a successful artist in California before coming east to Paterson, New Jersey, in 1881. Rix opened a studio in New York City in 1891 and was recognized as one of the leading American landscape painters of the day. His works are in many public collections including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Walker Art Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and locally at the Paterson Free Public Library and the Passaic County Historical Society, Lambert Castle. Rix died in 1903 and was buried at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Paterson.

Landscape with Figures is an example of the artist’s ability to create atmospheric effects in nature that evoke mood in his paintings. In this picture, dark gray clouds hovering over a hillside scene with figures suggest an impending thunderstorm. To the right a city with smokestacks and a church steeple can be seen in the distance. Perhaps Rix has presented a view of the industrial city of Paterson in the late nineteenth century.