May Blossoms, c. 1930s, Oil on canvas, 17 x 21 inches, Signed. PRICE ON REQUEST | VIEW LARGER IMAGE PROVENANCE Frank Bicknell was born in August, Maine in 1866. He began his studies with Albion Bicknell in Malden, Massachusetts, and then moved to New York City. After many years in New York, Bicknell was invited to Old Lyme, Connecticut around 1902. Soon thereafter, Bicknell became a prominent member of the Old Lyme group of American Impressionists. Staying at the well-known artist enclave, the Florence Griswold House, Bicknell painted images of the environs of Old Lyme. Florence Griswold opened her timeworn family home to artists searching for a quiet country retreat where they could rejuvenate their spirits and find sources of inspiration. The group was known as the Lyme Art Colony and the Griswold home became the center of Impressionism in America. In this stimulating environment of artistic camaraderie, inexpensive lodging, and picturesque scenery, Frank Bicknell found a sanctuary of inspiration and produced some of his most spectacular paintings during this time. May Blossoms is a testament to the Old Lyme painter's love for working outdoors from nature. Bicknell painted this scene on a sun-soaked canvas, resurrecting the colors from every nook and cranny of the hillside backdrop. Cherry blossoms, some of the richest and most beautiful colors produced in springtime, delicately brush the canvas. Definitive of the American Impressionist style, the light permeates from the edges of the clouds down to every blade of swaying grass, creating and illuminative and ethereal experience that transcends time.