Willows

This painting exemplifies the artist's debt to the French Impressionist Claude Monet, whom Robinson befriended in Giverny, a small farming village northwest of Paris. Robinson used loose brushwork and thick daubs of pure color to capture the glistening effects of sunlight over the Giverny landscape. The white mill in the background appeared in several of Robinson's works, suggesting that he emulated Monet's practice of painting a single motif—such as haystacks—at different times of day and from different vantage points to explore changes in light and atmosphere.