Robert Newton Hurley was an English-born Canadian artist known for his luminous watercolours capturing the skies and landscapes of the Canadian Prairies. After immigrating to Canada in 1923, Hurley settled in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where he developed his artistic practice while working as a printer and later for the Department of Highways. Largely self-taught, Hurley became recognized for his paintings of rural life and his ability to convey the vastness and beauty of the prairies.

In Quiet Prairie Winter (1966), Hurley presents a winter scene characterized by the stark geometry of telephone poles and a snow-covered road leading toward a distant grain elevator. Rendered in watercolour on paper and measuring 10.25 x 14.75 inches, the painting is signed and dated in the lower corner and is protected by museum glass. Hurley’s composition captures the stillness of the prairies in winter, with a palette of soft blues and whites contrasted by the earth tones of the distant buildings. The open sky, a hallmark of Hurley’s work, dominates the upper half of the painting and conveys an immensity that defines much of the Prairie experience.