From the Shawangunk Mountains

Sanford Robinson Gifford, From the Shawangunk Mountains, 1823-1880, oil on canvas on panel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Charles H. Ettl, 1987.61.2
Copied Sanford Robinson Gifford, From the Shawangunk Mountains, 1823-1880, oil on canvas on panel, 3 185 38 in. (7.913.7 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Charles H. Ettl, 1987.61.2
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
From the Shawangunk Mountains
Date
1823-1880
Dimensions
3 185 38 in. (7.913.7 cm.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Charles H. Ettl
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas on panel
Classifications
Keywords
  • Landscape — New York
  • Landscape — mountain — Shawangunk Mountains
Object Number
1987.61.2

Artwork Description

This tiny image is an oil sketch for one of Sanford Robinson Gifford’s many paintings of the Shawangunk Mountains in New York. Gifford was one of the first artists to recognize the artistic potential of the Shawangunks, which were filled with steep, craggy slopes and sweeping valleys (Avery and Kelly, eds., Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford, 2003). He used quick, expressive brushstrokes to capture the rocks, trees, and sky in the glowing colors of a summer sunset.