Joseph Lindon Smith (Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 1863 - 1950, Dublin, New Hampshire)
Italian Garden at Green Hill, Brookline, Massachusetts, 1895-1919
Ink and watercolor on paper, 23.1 x 35.2 cm (9 1/8 x 13 7/8 in.)
This rectangular watercolor image depicts a garden. To our right is a covered walkway that is bordered by columns and has a stone stairway leading up to it. Nearby are tall evergreen trees and other lower shrubs that have leaves budding. Other trees are scattered parallel to the walkway’s structure. There are patches of carefully trimmed grass and a smooth walkway that extends diagonally from our right up to our left. The watercolor is made up of shades of green, brown, and off-white.
Long Gallery
Commentary
Joseph Lindon Smith was an artist and close friend of Isabella Stewart Gardner. Here he painted her Italian Garden at Green Hill, the Gardner’s 40-acre estate in Brookline, Massachusetts. In the Italian Garden, Isabella combined flower beds with trellised paths and interspersed ancient statuary throughout. The space united Isabella’s love of gardens, art, and Italy. It was a fitting subject for Joseph, as he first met Isabella in Venice, Italy.