View near Rutland, Vermont

The acknowledged dean of American landscape painters following the death of Thomas Cole, Asher Brown Durand exemplified the ideal of naturalism for the second generation of American Hudson River School painters. Trained first as a watchmaker, silversmith, and engraver before turning to landscape painting, Durand began making seasonal trips to the hills along the Hudson River to sketch directly from near at hand natural motifs. From these he fashioned progressively vivid compositions, typically of woodland interiors, culminating in masterpieces of organic authenticity. Durand cemented his reputation with the publication of his Letters on Landscape Painting, in which he ardently promoted the practice of painting outdoors from humble natural objects as the route to learning and refining one’s art.