Like many of Bronxville’s artists, Charles Hinton excelled in different mediums – he was an illustrator of books, muralist, sculptor, painter and designer of commemorative medallions. He shared a studio in Manhattan for almost a decade with his mentor Will Low, who also dabbled in many art forms, and together they collaborated on several projects. Hinton moved first to Tuckahoe and then to Bronxville where, from 1911 until his death in 1950, he lived and raised his family. During this time he accepted many commissions and was known as a passionate art instructor at the National Academy of Design, Cooper Union, and New York University.
A Summer Shower illustrates that Hinton, as a painter, adopted Low’s classical revival style. An inscription on the verso reads: “What is so rare as a day in June?” — a line from James Russell Lowell’s poem. The painting was given to the artist’s son on his wedding day in 1935.