A second view of the White Bear Lake, Colorado mountains — Sidney's own title again written in his hand at the lower margin, making this one of the confirmed titled works in the collection. Comparing this version to Stormy Mountains, White Bear Lake, Colorado (281), the same mountain forms appear — the same peaks, the same arrangement — but the weather and light are entirely different. Where 281 has a dramatic storm cloud building directly above the peaks, this version shows a clear blue sky with looser cloud forms, the mountains in better light, the mood resolved rather than threatening.
The sky here is the work's finest element: a deep rich blue at the upper edge, handled in wet overlapping washes that create depth and texture, with lighter blue passages descending toward the horizon where clouds form and dissolve. The quality of the blue — saturated, luminous, the blue of high altitude on a clear day — is exceptional.
The mountain slopes are handled with the same vocabulary as 281 — green washes in patches, yellow ochre in the rock faces, dark marks for vegetation — but the overall effect is warmer, lighter, more at ease. The bottom foreground strip shows gentle undulating terrain in warm greens and yellows, with tiny dark marks for trees at distance.
Taken together, 281 and 337 form a natural pair: the same mountain under two different skies, two different moods, two different days. Sidney returned to the same subject because it wasn't finished — not because the painting was unresolved but because the mountain itself kept changing. The pair together would make a compelling two-page spread in the book.