Landscape (Birch and Oaks)

Asher B. Durand

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

Asher B. Durand, considered a founder of the Hudson River School along with Thomas Cole (represented in this gallery), was also identified with the progressive practices of plein air (outdoor) painting and innovative pictorial types. By the 1850s forest interiors in a compressed vertical format, as seen in this outdoor study, had become Durand’s signature compositional type. Here, the diagonal thrust of the trees dominates the foreground, while crisply delineated textures and contrasts of light and shadow convey minute detail, suggesting careful study from nature.

Caption

Asher B. Durand American, 1796–1886. Landscape (Birch and Oaks), ca. 1855–1857. Oil on canvas, 23 15/16 × 17 7/8 in. (60.8 × 45.4 cm) frame: 33 3/8 × 27 3/8 × 4 1/2 in. (84.8 × 69.5 × 11.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Charles A. Schieren, 15.326. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 15.326_PS22.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

American Art

Title

Landscape (Birch and Oaks)

Date

ca. 1855–1857

Medium

Oil on canvas

Classification

Painting

Dimensions

23 15/16 × 17 7/8 in. (60.8 × 45.4 cm) frame: 33 3/8 × 27 3/8 × 4 1/2 in. (84.8 × 69.5 × 11.4 cm)

Signatures

Signed lower right: "A B D"

Credit Line

Bequest of Charles A. Schieren

Accession Number

15.326

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • Who is the artist of this painting?

    The artist is Asher B. Durand, an American born in 1796. The work itself dates to around 1855–1857. Durand was one of the most prominent Hudson River School artists of the 19th century.
    Thank you!

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