Winter

Created in the 1920s, this print distills the Canadian winter to its elemental condition: cold, snow, shortened days, and the transformed landscape that results. Walter J. Phillips lived in Winnipeg during this period, where winter dominates the calendar from November through March, and the prairie landscape undergoes its most radical seasonal change. The single-word title, "Winter," claims the entire season as subject matter rather than specifying a particular place or moment. Phillips's woodblock technique for winter scenes relied on the contrast between warm-toned ink for trees, buildings, and shadows and the cool white of untouched paper representing snow. The limited palette of winter, primarily whites, greys, blues, and the dark forms of bare trees, concentrates the printmaker's attention on tonal relationships rather than color variety. The result is a composition that conveys the hush and stillness of a landscape sealed under snow.