(Landscape)

J. Alden Weir, (Landscape), after 1900, oil on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mahonri Sharp Young, 1978.110
Copied J. Alden Weir, (Landscape), after 1900, oil on wood, 23 7⁄8 x 15 7⁄8 in. (60.7 x 40.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mahonri Sharp Young, 1978.110
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
(Landscape)
Artist
Date
after 1900
Location
Dimensions
23 7⁄8 x 15 7⁄8 in. (60.7 x 40.4 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mahonri Sharp Young
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on wood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — tree
  • Landscape — season — summer
Object Number
1978.110
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1978.110

Artwork Description

Julian Alden Weir was a nature lover whose Branchville, Connecticut, farm was a retreat from the pressures of New York City. His younger brother had advised him to "hang onto this place, old boy . . . keep it trim and untrammeled, and you will find a haven of refuge." Weir began painting landscapes around the property after his beloved wife, Anna, died. This spindly poplar with its elegantly bending trunk might be one of those that he and Anna had planted together and that he closely identified with her. (Cummings, "Home Is the Starting Place: J. Alden Weir and the Spirit of Place," J. Alden Weir: A Place of His Own, 1991). Perhaps the ghostly figure in the foreground is meant to suggest his wife's spirit dwelling under the trees.