Virtual Exhibit

Name: Jane Doe
Course: Art 100
Instructor: Professor Smith
Date: Fall 1995

19th Century American Landscape Painting

The 19th century was a time when American Landscape painters were searching for way in which to express the unique qualities of America. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in _Kavanaugh_ (1849) wrote "We want a national literature commersurate with Niagra, and the Alleghenies, and the Great Lakes!" This exemplifies the cultural mood during the time period when nature was seen as the epitome as American individuality (Asleson and Moore,1985,pp. 4-7).

Title: 1940.299 Painting Western Painting Department American, 19th-20th centuries Landscape (Lake Tahoe), 1868 oil on canvas 13 x 16 in (actual), Framed 20 3/4 x 23 7/8 x 2 3/4 in Gift of Mr.
Date:1868
Collection: HUAM
Full Record

Lake Tahoe has a rich history. When American explorers Kit Carson and Captain John Charles Fremont first saw Lake Tahoe in 1844, they named it Lake Bonplad after the French botanist and explorer, Aime' Jacques Alexander Bonpland. Later, the Washo Tribe named it Lake Tahoe, which means "Big Waters". The majestic, wild scenery in this part of America was a perfect subject for the new American Landscape Painters.Lake Tahoe today known as a popular vacation spot, rather than as a savage wilderness.

Creator: Doughty, Thomas
Title:Fanciful Landscape
Date: 1834--1834
Collection: NGA
Full Record

Thomas Doughty was the first american to specialize in landscape painting. His works, like this one here, may have been influenced by his neighbors, Thomas Birch and Joshua Shaw, Anglo-American landscape painters. You can see his broad scope, and vast wild wilderness (Asleson and Moore, 1985). Doughty was was born in Philadephia 1793, and died NY City in 1856 (High Museum of Art, 1971).

Creator: Durand, Asher Brown
Title: Pastoral Landscape
Date: 1861--1861
Collection: NGA
Full Record

Asher Durand was a member of the Hudson River School for 20 years. His colleagues included Thomas Cole and William Cullen Bryant. He had special talent for his study of trees, and they are often the focal point of his paintings Asleson and Moore (1985). Durand was born in Jefferson Village (now Maplewood, NJ) in 1796 and died in the same town in 1886. He was also the President of the National Academy of Design 1846-1861 and studied in Europe from 1840-1841 (High Museum of Art, 1971).

Title: 1955.108 Drawing Drawing Department American, 19th-20th centuries Landscape, c.
Date:1899---1861
Collection: HUAM
Full Record

Some American Landscape painters travelled abroad and were influenced by artists such as Claude Lorrain, Poussin, and English Landscape painters. This soft pastel landscape has many stylistic qualities of Anglo-American and French landscapes. The fields of wild flowers and overgrown brush are, however, distinctly American.

Creator: American 19th Century
Title: Stylized Landscape
Date: 1850--1899
Collection: NGA
Full Record

During the 19th century, New York was the center of livlihood. Artists, musicians and writers met to collaborate on works at places like the Bread and Cheese Club (presided over by James Fenimore Cooper), The Sketch Club and the Century Club. It would not be unusual if the artist of this painting frequented one of these clubs and collaborated with a writer on a accompanying piece of literature.

REFERENCES

UVA MESL Examples

Last Modified: Monday, 20-Oct-2008 16:36:47 EDT