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According to Durand, landscape painters had a duty to portray American landscapes in a truthful manner; however, this did not mean landscapes were free from allegorical sentiment. In his first letter on landscape painting published in the popular art journal, The Crayon in 1855, Durand emphasized his interest in accurate depictions of nature: “For I maintain that all Art is unworthy and vicious which is at variance with Truth, and that only is worthy and elevated which impresses us with the same feelings and emotions that we experience in the presence of the Reality. True art teaches the use of the embellishments which Nature herself furnishes, it never creates them.” [1] Rocky Cliff serves as an exemplar of Durand’s own standards. The precision with which he approached the seemingly banal subject creates an illusion of reality, which despite the lack of dramatic sky or overt allegory promotes a romantic appreciation of nature.
Durand’s paintings appear to reflect contemporary developments in science. In 1830, Charles Lyell published Principles of Geology, a study that suggested the earth was slowly formed over eons. This sparked a widespread interest in geological theory, mirrored in numerous paintings of rocks and boulders that construct narratives about the passage of time through careful observation of stratified rock surfaces. During this period, the notion of geological age was a radical idea that questioned the validity of the Christian story of Creation and the place of human history within larger natural cycles. [2] According to scholar Rebecca Bedell, raw rock was commonly used as headstones at this time for the deceased and in the context of painting was read as an allegory of death; green vegetation served as the symbol of regeneration and new life. [3] Through the balance of rock and plant life, Durand achieved a realistic image imbued with a spiritual meaning.
Notes:
[1] Asher B. Durand, “Letters on Landscape Painting. Letter 1” The Crayon 1, no. 1 (January 3, 1855), 2.
[2] Charles C. Eldredge, Barbara Babcock Millhouse, and Robert G. Workman, American Originals: Selections from Reynolda House, Museum of American Art (New York: Abbeville Press, 1990), 56.
[3] Rebecca Bailey Bedell, The Anatomy of Nature: Geology & American Landscape Painting, 1825–1875, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001), 60-64.
ProvenanceTo 1976
Mr. Hillard Shar, New York. [1]
1977
Hirschl & Alder Galleries, Inc., New York in 1977. [2]
From 1977
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem NC, purchased from Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc. on November 1, 1977. [3]
Notes:
[1] Backlabel from R.W. Norton Art Gallery exhibition in 1973. See also letter from Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc. (M. P. Naud) to Joan Durana on October 13, 1984.
[2] Object file, bill of sale.
[3] See Note 2.
Exhibition History1973
The Hudson River School: American Landscape Paintings from 1821-1907
The R.W. Norton Gallery, Shreveport LA (10/14/1973-11/25/1973)
Cat. No. 15
Lent by Mr. Hillard Shar (NY).
1976
The American Experience
Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc. New York NY (1976)
Cat. No. 27
1987-1988
The Hudson River School: The Rise of American Landscape Painting
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NY (9/22/1987-1/2/1988)
1990-1992
American Originals, Selections from Reynolda House, Museum of American Art
The American Federation of Arts
Center for the Fine Arts, Miami FL (9/22/1990-11/18/1990)
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs CA (12/16/1990-2/10/1991)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (3/6/1991-5/11/1991)
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis TN (6/2/1991-7/28/1991)
Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth TX (8/17/1991-10/20/1991)
Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago (11/17/1991-1/12/1992)
The Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK (3/1/1992-4/26/1992)
Cat. No. 13
2007-2008
Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape
Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York NY (3/30/07-7/29/07)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC (9/14/07-1/6/08)
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego CA (2/2/08-4/27/08)
Published ReferencesPurchase, Eric. Out of Nowhere: Disaster and Tourism in the White Mountains. Baltimore & London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999: illus. 88.
Bedell, Rebecca. Anatomy of Nature: Geology & American Landscape Painting, 1825-1875. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2001: 62, fig. 32.
Millhouse, Barbara B. and Robert Workman. American Originals. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990: 56-7.
Georgia O'Keeffe visions of the sublime. Ed. Joseph S. Czestochowski. Memphis: Torch Press and International Arts, 2004.
Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape. Ed. Linda S. Ferber. New York: Brooklyn Museum, 2007. ISBN: 1904832261
Pittura Americana del XIX Secolo. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi.
Roberts, Jennifer L. Transporting Visions: The Movement of Images in Early America. Berkely and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2014: 137-138.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories , with contributions by Martha R. Severens and David Park Curry (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art affiliated with Wake Forest University, 2017). pg. 156, 157, 242
DepartmentAmerican Art
Rocky Cliff
Artist
Asher B. Durand
(1796 - 1886)
Datecirca 1860
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsFrame: 27 x 34 1/2 in. (68.6 x 87.6 cm)
Canvas: 16 1/2 x 24 in. (41.9 x 61 cm)
SignedABD
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
CopyrightPublic domain
Object number1977.2.6
DescriptionAsher B. Durand’s career as an accomplished engraver prepared him well to create carefully observed depictions of nature. Rocky Cliff is painted with the scientific accuracy characteristic of his work. In this tranquil view, a large outcropping of cool gray granite is punctuated by lush green vegetation. Durand painted a closed yet dramatic composition with the inward slanting rocks capped by a stand of trees. This device encourages the viewer to thoroughly examine the surface of the cliff as well as the various plant species growing out of it. The use of an intimate view marks a departure from the sweeping vistas of other Hudson River School painters. According to Durand, landscape painters had a duty to portray American landscapes in a truthful manner; however, this did not mean landscapes were free from allegorical sentiment. In his first letter on landscape painting published in the popular art journal, The Crayon in 1855, Durand emphasized his interest in accurate depictions of nature: “For I maintain that all Art is unworthy and vicious which is at variance with Truth, and that only is worthy and elevated which impresses us with the same feelings and emotions that we experience in the presence of the Reality. True art teaches the use of the embellishments which Nature herself furnishes, it never creates them.” [1] Rocky Cliff serves as an exemplar of Durand’s own standards. The precision with which he approached the seemingly banal subject creates an illusion of reality, which despite the lack of dramatic sky or overt allegory promotes a romantic appreciation of nature.
Durand’s paintings appear to reflect contemporary developments in science. In 1830, Charles Lyell published Principles of Geology, a study that suggested the earth was slowly formed over eons. This sparked a widespread interest in geological theory, mirrored in numerous paintings of rocks and boulders that construct narratives about the passage of time through careful observation of stratified rock surfaces. During this period, the notion of geological age was a radical idea that questioned the validity of the Christian story of Creation and the place of human history within larger natural cycles. [2] According to scholar Rebecca Bedell, raw rock was commonly used as headstones at this time for the deceased and in the context of painting was read as an allegory of death; green vegetation served as the symbol of regeneration and new life. [3] Through the balance of rock and plant life, Durand achieved a realistic image imbued with a spiritual meaning.
Notes:
[1] Asher B. Durand, “Letters on Landscape Painting. Letter 1” The Crayon 1, no. 1 (January 3, 1855), 2.
[2] Charles C. Eldredge, Barbara Babcock Millhouse, and Robert G. Workman, American Originals: Selections from Reynolda House, Museum of American Art (New York: Abbeville Press, 1990), 56.
[3] Rebecca Bailey Bedell, The Anatomy of Nature: Geology & American Landscape Painting, 1825–1875, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001), 60-64.
ProvenanceTo 1976
Mr. Hillard Shar, New York. [1]
1977
Hirschl & Alder Galleries, Inc., New York in 1977. [2]
From 1977
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem NC, purchased from Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc. on November 1, 1977. [3]
Notes:
[1] Backlabel from R.W. Norton Art Gallery exhibition in 1973. See also letter from Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc. (M. P. Naud) to Joan Durana on October 13, 1984.
[2] Object file, bill of sale.
[3] See Note 2.
Exhibition History1973
The Hudson River School: American Landscape Paintings from 1821-1907
The R.W. Norton Gallery, Shreveport LA (10/14/1973-11/25/1973)
Cat. No. 15
Lent by Mr. Hillard Shar (NY).
1976
The American Experience
Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc. New York NY (1976)
Cat. No. 27
1987-1988
The Hudson River School: The Rise of American Landscape Painting
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NY (9/22/1987-1/2/1988)
1990-1992
American Originals, Selections from Reynolda House, Museum of American Art
The American Federation of Arts
Center for the Fine Arts, Miami FL (9/22/1990-11/18/1990)
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs CA (12/16/1990-2/10/1991)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (3/6/1991-5/11/1991)
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis TN (6/2/1991-7/28/1991)
Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth TX (8/17/1991-10/20/1991)
Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago (11/17/1991-1/12/1992)
The Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK (3/1/1992-4/26/1992)
Cat. No. 13
2007-2008
Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape
Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York NY (3/30/07-7/29/07)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC (9/14/07-1/6/08)
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego CA (2/2/08-4/27/08)
Published ReferencesPurchase, Eric. Out of Nowhere: Disaster and Tourism in the White Mountains. Baltimore & London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999: illus. 88.
Bedell, Rebecca. Anatomy of Nature: Geology & American Landscape Painting, 1825-1875. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2001: 62, fig. 32.
Millhouse, Barbara B. and Robert Workman. American Originals. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990: 56-7.
Georgia O'Keeffe visions of the sublime. Ed. Joseph S. Czestochowski. Memphis: Torch Press and International Arts, 2004.
Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape. Ed. Linda S. Ferber. New York: Brooklyn Museum, 2007. ISBN: 1904832261
Pittura Americana del XIX Secolo. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi.
Roberts, Jennifer L. Transporting Visions: The Movement of Images in Early America. Berkely and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2014: 137-138.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories , with contributions by Martha R. Severens and David Park Curry (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art affiliated with Wake Forest University, 2017). pg. 156, 157, 242
Status
On view