United States

This landscape presents a view in the Harz Mountains, the northernmost range in Germany. Whittredge traveled there in the summer of 1852, accompanied by the German painter Karl Friedrich Lessing, a teacher at the Düsseldorf Academy. A late-summer sketching trip was part of a landscape painter’s life in Düsseldorf, and Whittredge participated in the ritual annually, making drawings of the local countryside.

At the painting’s center, a brilliant green and fuchsia hummingbird, painted life size, perches on the leaf of a Cattleya orchid. The orchid, a starburst of cotton-candy pink, is rooted onto the branch of a tree that is almost overgrown with moss and vines. The branch extends back and around to frame the bird and flower against the fully realized landscape of a South American mountain lake under a humid and stormy sky.

At the painting’s center, a brilliant green and fuchsia hummingbird, painted life size, perches on the leaf of a Cattleya orchid. The orchid, a starburst of cotton-candy pink, is rooted onto the branch of a tree that is almost overgrown with moss and vines. The branch extends back and around to frame the bird and flower against the fully realized landscape of a South American mountain lake under a humid and stormy sky.

Here we see the power of the ocean and our inconsequentiality before it. The beach appears to be deserted and the fringe of white foam at the water’s edge, typically all but invisible in the harsh glare of midday, glows under the low light of dusk. Figures are visible in the distance—two men sit in a small rowboat—but they are dwarfed by nature’s expanse.

Here we see the power of the ocean and our inconsequentiality before it. The beach appears to be deserted and the fringe of white foam at the water’s edge, typically all but invisible in the harsh glare of midday, glows under the low light of dusk. Figures are visible in the distance—two men sit in a small rowboat—but they are dwarfed by nature’s expanse.

Kensett cultivated potential patrons during his frequent visits to Newport, Rhode Island, a summer resort town popular with the wealthy. A natural businessman, he perceived a ready market for views of Newport’s pristine coastline and landscape among those visiting the fashionable resorts. This quiet scene—a meticulous study of nature under the suffused effects of morning light—records the subtle beauty of the region’s inner harbor.

Kensett cultivated potential patrons during his frequent visits to Newport, Rhode Island, a summer resort town popular with the wealthy. A natural businessman, he perceived a ready market for views of Newport’s pristine coastline and landscape among those visiting the fashionable resorts. This quiet scene—a meticulous study of nature under the suffused effects of morning light—records the subtle beauty of the region’s inner harbor.

In this painting of three freshly killed game birds—a fowl and two colorful ducks—one sees patiently detailed treatment of the birds’ luxuriant plumage, still glossy and vivid, as well as frank attention to the way that game is hung up to drain after beheading. Morse’s painting evidences connections to the earlier 17th-century Dutch tradition, but there is also a matter-of-factness more characteristic of 19th-century American still lifes.

In this painting of three freshly killed game birds—a fowl and two colorful ducks—one sees patiently detailed treatment of the birds’ luxuriant plumage, still glossy and vivid, as well as frank attention to the way that game is hung up to drain after beheading. Morse’s painting evidences connections to the earlier 17th-century Dutch tradition, but there is also a matter-of-factness more characteristic of 19th-century American still lifes.

This striking oil study is a deviation from the more polished still-life tradition, and one of hundreds made by 19th-century painters. This work allows us to better understand the artist’s techniques and compositional strategies by observing his thought process as he worked through the problems of individual objects. Each element has a slightly flat quality that allows it to occupy its own iconic space, which may unintentionally make Harnett’s study look rather modern to contemporary eyes.