Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
The Catskills
(18th and 19th Centuries )
This painting was commissioned by William T. Walters in 1858, when the 62-year-old Durand was at the height of his fame and technical skill. The vertical format of the composition was a trademark of the artist, allowing him to exploit the grandeur of the sycamore trees as a means of framing the expansive landscape beyond.
Durand's approach to the "sublime landscape" was modeled on that of Thomas Cole (1801-48), founder of the Hudson River school of painting. The painters of this school explored the countryside of the eastern United States, particularly the Adirondack Mountains and the Catskills. Their paintings often reflect the Transcendental philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82), who believed that all of nature bore testimony to a spiritual truth that could be understood through personal intuition.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Commissioned by William T. Walters, Baltimore, 1858, by commission [1]; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
[1] Commissioned June 8, 1858, payment made May 3, 1859. See letters from Walters to Durand in the New York Public Library, Manuscript Division
Exhibitions
| 2014-2016 | From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2010-2011 | 19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin. |
| 2007-2008 | Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington; San Diego Museum Of Art, San Diego. |
| 1998-2001 | Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 2001 | The American Artist as Painter and Draftsman. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1940 | Romanticism in America. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 10/7/1946 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 8/9/1963 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 9/1/1967 | Treatment | coated; loss compensation; other |
| 8/1/1991 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 8/19/1993 | Treatment | other |
| 2/2/1994 | Treatment | other |
| 3/19/1997 | Treatment | loss compensation; coated |
| 3/6/2006 | Examination | examined for condition |
Geographies
USA
(Place of Origin)
USA, Catskill Mountains, Plattekill Clove (Place Depicted)
Measurements
H: 62 1/2 x W: 50 1/2 in. (158.8 x 128.3 cm); Framed H: 77 7/8 x W: 66 1/8 x D: 7 1/4 in. (197.8 x 167.96 x 18.42 cm)
Credit Line
Commissioned by William T. Walters, 1858
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.122