This mural depicts the four seasons as seen in the town of Lexington, moving from winter at the far left through fall and summer before ending in spring at the far right. Much of the landscape is agricultural, foregrounding scenes of skiing in the winter, hunting in the fall and farmers planting crops and tilling fields in the spring and summer, all against a background of picturesque red barns and white clapboard houses. Ripley is clearly intending to highlight Lexington’s natural charms, as there are few signs of the modern era – only a train passing through in the distance and an old truck in one of the fields hint at the technological advances of the mid-twentieth century. He is known for utilizing the landscape in and around Lexington as the inspiration for many of his paintings, and this piece shows that interest on a large scale. Familiar landmarks from town are scattered throughout the mural, although Ripley has taken artistic license in locating some of them out of context, such as placing Wilson Farms in front of Buckman Tavern. Overall, Ripley depicts an idealized view of an agricultural, semi-rural Lexington that had most likely already begun to disappear by the time he painted ‘The Four Seasons,’ and this emphasis on depicting a simpler time is a hallmark of his work. This mural, at 64 feet long, was originally painted for a room in the home of Donald E. and Carolyn L. Nickerson, long-time Lexington residents and friends of Ripley. When the Nickersons moved, they donated the mural to Cary Memorial Library, where it was installed and dedicated in May 1977.
Aiden Lassell Ripley (1896-1969) was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts and demonstrated an artistic streak from an early age. He attended classes at the Fenway School of Illustration until the outbreak of World War I; after serving in the military, he resumed his studies at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. While there, he studied with Frank Benson and Philip Hale, artists whose emphasis on depicting natural scenes by using impressionistic and plein air techniques would have a significant impact on his own artistic style. Although he originally specialized in landscapes, sales in that category suffered during the Great Depression and Ripley changed his focus to hunting and fishing scenes, which were still selling well. He settled in Lexington in the 1930s and continued to paint sporting scenes and landscapes throughout the rest of his career, although he occasionally took on commissions for history paintings and portraits. He was an ardent conservationist and a passionate outdoorsman, and was heavily involved in the local arts scene, serving as President of the Guild of Boston Artists for ten years, as well as enjoying membership in such diverse groups as the American Watercolor Society and Lexington’s Planning Board and Board of Appeals. Ripley’s paintings are in the collections of institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Art Institute of Chicago and the High Museum, Atlanta.