Fitz Hugh Lane Christmas Cove, Maine, 1858 Oil on canvas, 19 x 26 ½ in. (48.3 x 67.3 cm) Signed and dated lower right: F.H. Lane. 1858. Purchased with funds donated by the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation. Fitz Hugh Lane was an American Hudson River School Painter. In paintings such as this one, Lane revealed a lifelong fascination with tranquil nature. Lane was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Lane lost the full use of his legs while still an infant, when it is believed he contracted polio. He was forced to walk with crutches for the rest of his life. Due in part to this disability, Lane spent the majority of his youth in Gloucester observing and recording in countless sketches the sea and the miles of shoreline he would come to know well. Although well-respected during his lifetime, Lane faded into obscurity soon after his death in 1865. It is only within the last quarter century that he has earned the reputation of our first native maritime painter of real stature.