Pennsylvania Impressionism was an American Impressionist movement of the first half of the 20th century that was centered in and around Bucks County, Pennsylvania, particularly the town of New Hope. The movement is sometimes referred to as the "New Hope School" or the "Pennsylvania School" of landscape painting. Beginnings Landscape painter William Langson Lathrop (1859-1938) moved to New Hope in 1898, where he founded a summer art school. The mill town was located along the Delaware River, about forty miles from Philadelphia and seventy miles from Manhattan. The area's rolling hills were spectacular, and the river, its tributaries, and the Delaware Canal were picturesque. The natural beauty attracted the artist Edward Redfield (1869-1965), who settled north of the town. Redfield painted nature in bold and vibrant colors, and was s pioneer of the realistic painting of winter in America. Lathrop's thick layering distinguished him from his contemporaries, and he amassed more honors and awards than any other artist in the New Hope colony. His style is distinguished by its color, light, and usual time of day when painting. The third major artist to settle in the area was Daniel Garber (1880-1958), who came to New Hope in 1907. Garber hated painting winter scenes and applied his paint lightly. Garber was an instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and madee rain paintings popular. Artist colony As more artists came to the colony, the artists formed art groups with different ideas. The two main groups were the Impressionists and the Modernists. Impressionists were painters who did not stay with the traditional pursuit of painting realistically, but instead explored the possibilities of paint and imagination. An important American Impressionist movement is the Pennsylvania Impressionism. The Pennsylvania Impressionist Movement inspired and influenced major artists such as Walter Schofield (1867-1944), George Sotter(1879-1953) and Henry Snell (1858-1943). William Lathrop purchased the Phillips Mill property to use as a venue to hold galleries and exhibitions. However, problems occurred in this venue. Modernist Lloyd Ney submitted a painting of the New Hope canal. Lathrop threatened to reject the painting because the colors were too disturbing. Charles Ramsey, Lloyd Ney's good friend, was disturbed by this comment and formed the “New Group.” This group rebelled against the traditional impressionists having to inaugurate before the Phillips Mill Exhibition on May 16, 1930. Many years later a flood of artists came because of the Garber's influence