Indian Summer

J. Francis Murphy, Indian Summer, 1903, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans, 1909.7.51
Copied J. Francis Murphy, Indian Summer, 1903, oil on canvas, 16 1⁄4 x 22 in. (41.2 x 56.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans, 1909.7.51
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Indian Summer
Artist
Date
1903
Location
Dimensions
16 1⁄4 x 22 in. (41.2 x 56.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of William T. Evans
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — house
  • Landscape — season — autumn
  • Landscape — plain
Object Number
1909.7.51
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1909.7.51

Artwork Description

J. Francis Murphy created intimate landscape scenes that were painstakingly produced. His process required applying one overall wash of paint to the canvas while he was outside so that he could capture the dominant colors of the landscape. He would let the canvas dry for up to a year before completing the painting in his studio. With its spindly trees, soft yellow-green fields and sweeping clouds, Indian Summer conjures the hazy quality of a memory or dream. (Burke, “J. Francis Murphy,” American Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. III, 1980)