Hibbard, Aldro (1886-1972)

Aldro Hibbard, born in 1886 in Falmouth, Massachusetts, was best known for his post-impressionistic winter landscapes of New England. His work is often recognized through his intricate and vibrant focus on light and shadow. He was a founding member of the Rockport Art Colony, and later the Rockport Art Association, which still exists today and provides instruction and exhibition opportunities for artists. Hibbard was initially a professional baseball player but left that life behind in pursuit of his artistic career. He attended the Massachusetts Normal School and the Boston Museum School, where he studied alongside Edmund Tarbell, Joseph DeCamp, and Frank Benson. He received a Paige Traveling Scholarship to study abroad, however, those travels were cut short due to the beginning of World War I in 1914, when he returned to America Hibbard became an instructor in the Art Department of Boston University beginning in the year 1915. During the 1920’s, Hibbard traveled from his home in Cape Ann to Vermont, capturing the rural snow scenes, complete with oxen-pulled wagons, sugar houses, and covered bridges. He was a realist painter, capturing the subtle nuances of greys and the phenomenon of light on snow.