1850-1913. Descended from the founders of the Rhode Island colony, George Hitchcock enjoyed a successful career as a lawyer before establishing himself as a painter in Europe. He eventually settled in the Netherlands (spending winters in Paris), and gained renown for his impressionistic scenes of tulip fields and peasant women in traditional Dutch costume. Unlike many American expatriate painters who, like he, studied in Paris, Düsseldorf, and The Hague, Hitchcock chose to remain in Europe rather than return to America, attaining a level of European recognition that eluded many of his peers.

Hitchcock's softly focused canvases incorporate brilliant color, exploring the effects of sunlight and shadow on quintessentially Dutch subject matter. Rather than confining his interest in light to landscape, Hitchcock often surrounded his figural subjects (whether religious or not) with auras of light as well. His landscape works convey the essential character of the Dutch countryside, and frequently include the tulip fields, canals, and windmills that give the area its distinctive visual appeal. Among the numerous prizes Hitchcock earned over the course of his career was a gold medal at the Paris Salon of 1887.