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Aldro Hibbard
Aldro Thompson Hibbard (August 25, 1886 – November 12, 1972) was an American Plein air painter known for his depictions of snowy landscapes, particularly of Vermont.[1] Hibbard worked in oil, as watercolor couldn't be used in January and February in the mountains of Vermont. He lived most of his life in Rockport, Massachusetts. Early lifeHibbard was born August 25, 1886 in Falmouth, Massachusetts to James Thompson Hibbard and Katherine Swift. Hibbard's father sold sewing machines and his mother was a homemaker with a fondness for nature and spiritualism. He had one older sister, Adeline. Hibbard was raised in the Boston suburbs of Roxbury and Dorchester and graduated from Dorchester High School in 1906, where he was captain of the baseball team.[2][3] During his youth, he would frequently spend summers with his family in Falmouth. Between 1911 to 1916, he participated in baseball games for the Cottage Club, which was Falmouth's town team and is now a part of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Hibbard enrolled in the Massachusetts Normal Art School (now Massachusetts College of Art and Design) in 1906. He studied with Ernest Lee Major, Joseph DeCamp, Frederic Andrew Bosley, well-known painters of portraits and still life. He worked his way through college, walking back and forth to Dorchester to attend classes six days a week and also attending night classes several times a week. Hibbard completed the four-year program in three years and in 1909 enrolled at the school Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (now School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts) to continue his studies. Here he studied with Frank Weston Benson, Phillip Leslie Hale and Edmund Charles Tarbell, who were instructors in the new school of American Impressionism. Hibbard studied there for four years and, upon graduation in 1913, was awarded the Paige Traveling Scholarship, one of only four scholarships and the only American to receive the scholarship for this year.[12] With the resources now to travel to Europe and study for two years, Hibbard departed Boston aboard the SS Arabic bound for Cobh, Ireland in September 1913. Hibbard spent time in England, France, Spain, Morocco, and Italy. He was able to study and sketch from many masters and had exposure to the life of Europe. He explored both town and landscape venues.[13] Due to the declaration of War on 29 July 1914 (Italy), Hibbard made his way back to England after which he boarded the SS Arabic in November 1914 bound for Boston.[14] CareerThe National Academy of Design awarded Hibbard the 1922 First Hallgarten Prize for Late February, and the 1928 Second Altman Prize for Snow Mantle.[1] He also won gold medals at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for the year 1922, 1927 and 1931.[15] Hibbard traveled extensively early in his career across the United States and Canada seeking mountainous venues.[citation needed] He then gravitated to Rockport where many artists coalesced to form what is now known as the Rockport Art Association, including Charles R. Knapp and Harry Aiken Vincent.[16] Hibbard was president of the association for over 20 years. He also was an instructor for many years creating the Hibbard School of Painting in Rockport. He spent his summers instructing in Rockport and then painting in Vermont in the winter months.[17][18][19][20][21] Hibbard was a member of many American art organizations, including the Rockport Art Association[22] and the North Shore Art Association.[16] He was a National Academician of the National Academy of Design and was granted Associate National Academician in 1923 and National Academician in 1933. LegacyHibbard influenced Rockport artists including Emile Gruppe, Tom Nicholas, Paul Strisik, Marguerite Stuber Pearson, and Roger Curtis.[citation needed] His paintings, which are associated with the Boston School of painting,[23] are in many museums including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Currier Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art, Whistler House Museum of Art, corporations and other prominent private collections. Some of Hibbard's paintings were sold at Invaluable auction site.[24][25] Aldro Hibbard's current[26][27] record at auction occurred on February 3, 2012 at Skinner Auctioneers and Appraisers, when Winter in New England, Probably a West River, Vermont View, estimated at $25,000-$35,000, sold for $88,875.[27][citation needed] [25][27] Along with Anthony Thieme, Hibbard is generally regarded as the most expensive Rockport painter at auction.[citation needed][27] References
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