Landscape with Family by Lake

Media - 1983.95.175 - SAAM-1983.95.175_1 - 7486
Copied Robert S. Duncanson, Landscape with Family by Lake, 1858, oil on canvas, 12 x 17 in. (30.5 x 43.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of J & R Investments, 1983.95.175
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Landscape with Family by Lake
Artist
Date
1858
Location
Dimensions
12 x 17 in. (30.5 x 43.2 cm.)
Markings
lower right in oil: R.S. Duncanson./1858. stretcher verso lower in felt-tipped pen and ink: R.D. R.D.
Credit Line
Gift of J & R Investments
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group — family
  • Landscape — lake
  • Recreation — sport and play — boating
Object Number
1983.95.175
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.175

Artwork Description

During the late 1850s, Robert S. Duncanson painted romantic views of the Ohio River valley, near his home in Cincinnati. Images like Landscape with Family by Lake showed people enjoying nature in peaceful settings, suggesting the nineteenth-century faith that God created the wilderness for man to enjoy. The setting sun infuses the tree in the foreground with glowing colors to evoke a divine light watching over the countryside.