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Huntley stressed that locations with intense heat and humidity were not for her, stating, "I long for a sharp, cold wind and snow and ice" and "I love winter and the magic of snow is still a miracle for me." "Skating on the Pond" is a prime example of Huntley's preferred weather, depicted as nostalgic and magical.
In 1936, the year Huntley created "Skating on the Pond," she moved from New York to West Cornwall, Connecticut, into a Victorian house near the Housatonic river. The move was an intentional escape from the city and its professional demands that were becoming strenuous and exhausting for Huntley. After the move, Huntley exclaimed, "How fresh, how quiet the country, how simple and wholesome our life." She suddenly had three days a week free, which she used to explore the woods and the river by her house in search of material for her work. Though she focused less on lithography and more on painting during this time, "Skating on the Pond" is one of the lithographs she did make. Huntley called her time in West Cornwall one of expansion and search for her, and said that her work changed and looked "old fashioned." The whimsical, cozy depiction of "Skating on the Pond" reflects Huntley's renewed love for rural life and is likely a scene she witnessed near her home. It's also a reflection of the type of American scene imagery that the American Artists Group (AAG) focused on publishing during the Great Depression. It makes sense, then, that "Skating on the Pond" was published by AAG.