Clifton A. Wheeler (American, 1883-1953) oil on masonite winter landscape titled "The First Snow". Depicts tire tracks leading through snow-covered ground to a small green house surrounded by trees and shrubbery, set under a cloudy sky. Molded wood frame. Signed and dated lower left CLIFTON WHEELER '52. Label en verso for Hoosier Salon Exhibition, January 26 – February 7, 1953, with number, artist name, title, medium, and price information attached, top right corner; handwritten name and address of artist left of label. Sight – 23 1/2"H x 31 1/2"W. Framed – 29 1/2"H x 37 3/8"W. Artist Biography (courtesy Askart: The Artists' Bluebook) – Indiana-born Clifton Wheeler studied art in New York under William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller. He also studied in Italy and Paris, where he became friends with Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso. He was urged to stay in New York, but returned to Indiana, where he taught for many years at the Herron Art Institute and Butler University. During the summers, he taught at the University of Colorado in Boulder but also traveled to paint in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, as well as in the mountains of North Carolina and upstate New York. He won numerous awards in his lifetime and was a member of the Portfolio Club, the Indiana Artists Club, and the Society of Western Artists. He was one of two artists selected to represent Indiana at the World's Fairs in New York and San Francisco. Provenance – Lexington, Kentucky area collection. Condition: Overall excellent condition. CONDITION: Overall excellent condition.