Winter Scene

A city park in winter appears endless from this low-level, child's point of view. Clusters of excited young people converge upon a sledding hill in the distance, the patterns of their tracks leading us to the destination. Most of Alshets' painting is dedicated to snow in the foreground or a beautifully patterned sky overhead; a sinuous ribbon of trees and buildings are the only reminders of its urban setting. Perhaps due to the idyllic subject matter, this work was allocated to the Homer Folks Tuberculosis Hospital in Oneonta, NY. Its current status is unknown, although likely stored with the US General Services Administration (GSA).

Note: this picture was taken by an unnamed photographer of the FAP's Photo Division and, so far as we know, is the only publicly available image of Alshets' painting. The original photograph has been cropped and lightly edited for clarity.

About the Artist

Alshets was an artist for the Federal Arts Project based in New York, having immigrated from Sheffield, England as a young child. Although we know a several of his artworks, and even have a photograph of him painting Deserted Farm (1938), there is little more about the man who created them. Historical records indicate a large family, including a twin sister, and a toymaker father who struggled financially. We also can trace how his paintings, through the FAP, travelled across the United States. In 1941 his painting Tri Boro Bridge was exhibited at the the Salt Lake City Art Center and praised by the local newspaper as a lively scene reminiscent of Reginald Marsh. That same painting appeared a few months later in Oregon, at the Salem Arts Center, where a reviewer thought that it showed a good understanding of the average American. Deserted Farm traveled to the Federal Art Gallery in Chicago; a still life traveled to Bradenton, FL. Unfortunatelyartists like Alshets are everywhere: gifted people who created art but never had anyone to record the day to day of their life. 12 images at FAP.

Works Consulted:Alshets Family Tree, Ancestry.com; “Center Group Illustrates Realistic Art”( Salt Lake City Tribune 24 Feb. 1941: 9); “Art Center Notes” (Salem Statesman Journal (22 Jun. 1941: 12).

Alshets, Simon (1908 - ?)

Cooper, Ken (description)

Secor, Caleb (biography)

Smithsonian Museum, Archives of American Art
Federal Art Project, Photographic Division Collection
Box 1, Folder 20

Photograph of oil on canvas painting