Distinguished as an influential art teacher for more than forty years, Hugh Henry Breckenridge was born in Leesburg, Virginia, but spent most of his adult life in Philadelphia. Breckenridge enrolled as a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1887, and three years later he was awarded the prestigious Cresson Traveling Scholarship, which enabled him to spend a year abroad in Europe. Breckenridge was deeply influenced by the Impressionist art that he encountered there, and during a subsequent trip to Europe in 1909, he was also exposed to more recent trends in avant-garde art.

Breckenridge painted landscapes consistently throughout his career using a diverse range of stylistic approaches. As always, he adhered to his over-arching conviction that the artist’s idea was of the utmost importance, and therefore, the artist must select whatever approach was best suited to express that idea. During the early part of his career, Breckenridge adopted the stylistic tendencies of the French Impressionists to convey his unique painterly vision, and later in life he reflected, “I must have been born an Impressionist.” This influence can clearly be seen in his pastel titled Phlox from circa 1906. This work was no doubt executed at Breckenridge’s home in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, which he nicknamed “Phloxdale,” due to the beautiful phlox garden which he and his wife cultivated there. Breckenridge settled in Fort Washington in 1902, when he and Anshutz found it necessary to move the Darby School to that area after it had outgrown its previous location.

Breckenridge’s idyllic garden at Phloxdale was the subject of a number of his finest impressionist paintings, such as Phlox and Hollyhocks from circa 1907. As was often the case, his primary interest in these works seems to be in creating beautiful and vibrant color harmonies, rather than depicting “realistic” views of the outdoors. In Phlox, Breckenridge focuses the composition on a small section of the garden, offering a close-up glimpse of the blossoms and only loosely suggesting the surrounding foliage. He created this piece using pastels, and interestingly, many of his finished works from this period were executed in that medium. Breckenridge actually manufactured his own chalks to ensure that they would maintain as much color permanence as possible. Indeed, the colors in Phlox are remarkable for their brilliance. The purple and white of the flowers seem to vibrate alongside the surrounding touches of deep blue, green, and even hints of bright orange and red. Breckenridge applied these colors in bold dashes and scribbles in a loose, haphazard manner, which is almost pointillist in its effect.