Dover Plains, Dutchess County, New York

Asher B. Durand, Dover Plains, Dutchess County, New York, 1848, oil on canvas, 42 ¹⁄₂ x 60 ¹⁄₂ in. (107.9 x 153.7 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Thomas M. Evans and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1978.126

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Artwork Details

Title: Dover Plains, Dutchess County, New York
Artist: Asher B. Durand
Date: 1848
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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2nd Floor
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East Wing
Dimensions: 42 ¹⁄₂ x 60 ¹⁄₂ in. (107.9 x 153.7 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Thomas M. Evans and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Highlights: 19th Century
Subjects: Landscape — mountain
Animal — cattle
Figure group
Landscape — New York — Dover
Landscape — New York — Dutchess County
Object Number: 1978.126
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1978.126

Artwork Description

The pre-Civil War American landscape served as an idyllic reminder of the nation’s promise, a real-world Garden of Eden.Paintings by Durand and other Hudson River school artists focused on the Arcadian qualities of the landscape. When Dover Plains was first shown in 1848 an art critic wrote, “It is so invested with the characteristics of the natural scenery of our land that almost every visitor who looks upon it could localize the scene.” Durand helped promote the idea that the country’s scenery was emblematic of the nation’s ideals.