Champney Higgins

Left: George Frank Higgins (c. 1835–after 1900), *View of Mount Washington*, 1868, oil on canvas, 33 7/8 x 45 7/8 in. Gift of Caroline Barr Wade,1948.248.
Right: Benjamin Champney (1817–1907), *Mount Chocorua*, 1860, oil on canvas, 30 x 38 ¼ in., Gift of the estate of Jane N. Grew, 1920.461.

Little is known about George Frank Higgins. The painting is part of the exhibition so we can explore different artists’ approaches to similar subjects. Above you can see the two paintings side-by-side. Do you notice, for instance, that Champney’s is more atmospheric? Now look at the handling of the depth of field. Champney’s painting moves seamlessly from foreground, to middle ground, to distance, to sky, whereas here each reads like a separate band. The differences might be explained by Champney’s greater skill, but they’re also the result of choices each artist made.