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A friend of both Thomas Cole and James Fenimore Cooper, Asher B. Durand was a leader of the Hudson River School. A successful engraver, portrait and genre painter, Durand and several other artists traveled to Europe in 1840 to develop their skills as landscapists. On his return to the United States, Durand won immediate acceptance as an established talent. This painting is a magnificent example of Durand's landscape style shortly after his return from Europe.
Exhibition History“Heritage of the Hudson Exhibit,” Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY, August 23 – August 30, 1948.
“Hudson River School and Related Paintings,” Art Gallery, Union College, Schenectady, NY, December 19, 1952 – January 30, 1953.
“American Treasures from the Fenimore Art Museum,” The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL, February 20 – November 4, 2004.
“Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape,” Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, March 30 – July 29, 2007; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., September 14, 2007 – January 6, 2008; San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA, February 2 – April 27, 2008.
BibliographyPerrault, Claire, “The Hudson River School, Studies in American Naturalistic Painting,” in Cobblestone (February, 1987), pp. 8, 9, ill.
Hommel, Justine, “The Mountains, the Valley and the Clove,” in Kaatskill Life, Vol. 3 no. 2 (Summer, 1988), p. 16, ill.
Vincent, Gilbert T., D’Ambrosio, Paul S. et al., A Centennial Celebration: Collections from the New York State Historical Society (Cooperstown, NY: New York State Historical Association, 1999), p. 9, ill.
Ferber, Linda S., ed., Kindred Spirits Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape (exh. cat. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, 2007), pp.149, 202n60, PL. 47, ill.
Goldin, Marco H., Weinberg, Barbara et al., Pittura Americana del XIX Atti del Convegno Secolo (Treviso, Italy: Linea d'ombra Libri, 2008), pp. 41, 42, ill.
Kuspit, Donald, Homage to the Hudson River School: Paintings by Jack Stuppin (New York, NY: ACA Galleries, 2015), pp. 26, 27, ill.
Artist
Asher Brown Durand
(1796 - 1886)
Hudson River Looking Toward the Catskills
Date1847
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 45 5/8 × 61 1/2 in. (115.9 × 156.2 cm)
Object numberN0391.1955
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Stephen C. Clark
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextThis painting, rendered on an unusually large scale, depicts people enjoying the beauty and tranquility of the Hudson River near Rhinecliff, New York. The graceful forms of the trees seem to offer shelter and lead the eye of the viewer to the picturesque Catskill mountains.A friend of both Thomas Cole and James Fenimore Cooper, Asher B. Durand was a leader of the Hudson River School. A successful engraver, portrait and genre painter, Durand and several other artists traveled to Europe in 1840 to develop their skills as landscapists. On his return to the United States, Durand won immediate acceptance as an established talent. This painting is a magnificent example of Durand's landscape style shortly after his return from Europe.
Exhibition History“Heritage of the Hudson Exhibit,” Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY, August 23 – August 30, 1948.
“Hudson River School and Related Paintings,” Art Gallery, Union College, Schenectady, NY, December 19, 1952 – January 30, 1953.
“American Treasures from the Fenimore Art Museum,” The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL, February 20 – November 4, 2004.
“Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape,” Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, March 30 – July 29, 2007; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., September 14, 2007 – January 6, 2008; San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA, February 2 – April 27, 2008.
BibliographyPerrault, Claire, “The Hudson River School, Studies in American Naturalistic Painting,” in Cobblestone (February, 1987), pp. 8, 9, ill.
Hommel, Justine, “The Mountains, the Valley and the Clove,” in Kaatskill Life, Vol. 3 no. 2 (Summer, 1988), p. 16, ill.
Vincent, Gilbert T., D’Ambrosio, Paul S. et al., A Centennial Celebration: Collections from the New York State Historical Society (Cooperstown, NY: New York State Historical Association, 1999), p. 9, ill.
Ferber, Linda S., ed., Kindred Spirits Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape (exh. cat. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, 2007), pp.149, 202n60, PL. 47, ill.
Goldin, Marco H., Weinberg, Barbara et al., Pittura Americana del XIX Atti del Convegno Secolo (Treviso, Italy: Linea d'ombra Libri, 2008), pp. 41, 42, ill.
Kuspit, Donald, Homage to the Hudson River School: Paintings by Jack Stuppin (New York, NY: ACA Galleries, 2015), pp. 26, 27, ill.
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