Notes from the Archive: Robert Kipniss lived in Tarrytown, NY when I first met him, so I always thought of his work as related to the Hudson River school, but later discovered its kinship with the American landscape tradition known as Tonalism, a late 19th Century outgrowth of the French Barbizon school. Tonalists, also called Quietists, depicted their emotions about nature with small poetic gestures and intimate compositions rather than grand, sweeping vistas.  George Inness, James McNeill Whistler and photographer Edward Steichen are among the best known artists whose work fit into this genre.

In describing his work Kipniss has said, "I may be painting trees and houses, but when I look at them, that's not what I see. I see an atmosphere, a moment, a quickly passing experience that I am trying to capture. My art is an art of intensity, of delving, of exploring the soul." Drawn masterfully in pencil, Kipniss renders this formal and intimate interior with light radiating both from the lamp and the window. This image draws you into his world, and at the same time evokes memories and recollections of your own. Here we offer an outstanding artwork; traditional in its subject and form yet spiritually modern and evocative.