HATTIE SAUSSY was known for her talent as well as her character. She was born in Savannah, Georgia in 1870. Although blind in her left eye due to a childhood accident, from an early age, she had an intuitive sense of color and light. Hattie's mother was a key figure of encouragement to her. She exposed Hattie to impressionist art and sent her to art classes. When she was in her twenties she moved to New York and traveled in Europe prior to the War breaking out. She had an intense love for the South and traveled around North and South Carolina and Georgia. Her habit of stopping in the middle of nowhere” to paint when she was traveling, helped her become one of the best known southern plein-air painters. A deeply religious individual, she had a thirst for knowledge and a generous nature and encouraged other artists in their endeavors The vantage point which Hattie chose for the painting, is a view from the bottom of a large hill. The brushwork points to the direction of the stark white lighthouse. The houses next to the lighthouse, as well as the lighthouse itself are surrounded by pencil marks that were sketched before paint was laid down to define the architecture of the structures. Saussy used short diagonal strokes for the grass and sky in promoting a flow nature of elements. The houses and lighthouse itself are painted in such a way that exposes brush marks that are longer as well as straight. Bright pinks and purples are used to illuminate the structures against the cool setting of blues and greens of the natural elements of the land and sky. However, the artist was able to use variations of the same palette throughout the whole painting. The palette she (Saussy) used is muted with lavender and violet pastels in a cloudless sky, which melt into the light greens of the grass. With lively brushwork and lots of incidental color, Saussy turned what could have been a very boring rendition of hill and sky into an environment that is full of energy, albeit a quiet energy. Hattie’s use of movement and gentleness of stroke is enhanced only by who the lady was herself. It is unmistakable that a bit Hattie lives on in every painting.