Asher Brown Durand Painting

An accomplished artist and engraver in New York City, a member of the so-called Hudson River school of landscape painting, Asher B Durand painted nature, US Presidents, and historical scenes. He was a close friend of fellow artist Thomas Cole and poet William Cullen Bryant (pictured in Kindred Spirits below). Most of the following works of his were scanned from two books I picked up on a visit (Apr 2001) to the New-York Historical Society, where most of these works may be found. His engraving of John Trumbull's The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 hangs in the Yale University Art Gallery. It is the etcing featured on the back of today's $2 bill. Asher's etchings of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were featured on the very first two US postage stamps too.

Intimate Friends: Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, William Cullen Bryant, Ella M Foshay and Barbara Novak, New-York Historical Society, NY, 2000.

Mr. Luman Reed's Picture Gallery: Pioneer Collection of American Art, Ella M Foshay, Harry N Abrams, Inc, NY, 1990.

I have published (Sep 2003) a book on the Durand family, featuring 17 of Asher's paintings. Lucky for me, he painted portraits of his family members - before photography. There are excellent reproductions of several of the following low-res images in the book, as noted:

	Kindred Spirits, 1849 - a frontispiece of the book
	Study from Nature: Rocks and Trees, abt 1856
	Study from Nature:Stratton Notch, Vermont, 1853 - dust jacket of the book
	White Mountain Scenery, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, 1857
	The Solitary Oak, 1844
	Black Mountain from the Harbor Islands, Lake George, N.Y., 1875
	Study of Trees, Catskill Mountains, New York, 1848 - frontispiece of the book
	Peter Stuyvesant and the Trumpeter (The Wrath of Stuyvesant), 1835
	The Pedlar (The Pedlar Displaying His Wares), 1835-36
	John Quincy Adams, 1835 (from life)
	Andrew Jackson, 1835 (from life)