Dover Plains, Dutchess County, New York

Copied 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
Date
1848
Location
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
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Landscape — New York — Dutchess County
  • Landscape — New York — Dover
  • Animal — cattle
  • Landscape — mountain
  • Figure group
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.