Artist Profile

Asher Brown Durand (1796-1886)

Born near Newark, New Jersey, on August 21, 1796, Asher Brown Durand was the son of a watchmaker and silversmith.  Durand became one of the central members of the Hudson River School, finishing his career as one of the most important American artists of the 19^th century and perhaps the premier American landscape painter ever.

Durand’s fame started with an apprenticeship with noted engraver Peter Maverick of Newark.  His work was so impressive that upon graduation he became a partner in Maverick’s business.  Durand’s reputation was solidified with the publication of engravings in 1823 to illustrate Trumbull’s writing, “Signing of the Declaration of Independence.”  Soon thereafter he published engraved portraits of prominent contemporary Americans, endearing him to the American public.  His skill as an engraver was based on his training in drawing.  This discipline influenced his early career through the use of outline and precise rendering.  Later in life, Durand changed from his painstaking and meticulous style to one less structured.

Between 1821 and 1831 Durand helped organize the New York Drawing Association that came to life in 1825, The National Academy of Design (1826)—where he served as the second President from 1845 to 1861—and the Sketch Club (1829).  In the midst of these involvements, Durand formed a partnership with his brother, Cyrus, and Charles Wright, specializing in engraved bank notes.

In 1832 Durand abandoned his engraving businesses and became a successful portrait painter; and by 1835 Durand had devoted himself entirely to painting.  During this time he painted several portraits of presidents for which he is still regarded as genius.  But financial stress and encouragement from friend Thomas Cole motivated him to redirect his work to landscape painting.  Asher Durand was one of the earliest American artists to work directly from nature.

In 1846 Asher Durand helped found the Century Association as a club of authors, artists and the fine arts.  Early members included editor-poet William Cullen Bryant and Winslow Homer, John Kensett and architect Stanford White.  The Century Association was a spin off group that had originally been called the Sketch Club.

Visits to the White Mountains of New Hampshire early and near the end of his life yielded many paintings of mountain views, for which he is best known.  From 1857, Durand lived the remainder of his life in New York, dying on Sept. 17, 1886.

Three distinguished art institutions are honoring the accomplishments of this great American landscape painter:

—The National Academy Museum (New York City) presents Asher B. Durand (1796-1886), Dean of American Landscape that consists of 20 works, including paintings, prints, sculpture and manuscripts drawn from the permanent collection as well as several loaned works by key artists and nine major American landscapes by artists such as Church, Inness, Bierstadt, and others.  Opens July 5 through Jan. 6.

—Kindred Spirits:  Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape is a retrospective of works on view at the Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn, NY) through July 29.Travels to Smithsonian, Washington, D.C., Sept. 14 – Jan 6; and San Diego Museum of Art, Feb. 2 – April 27.

—The World of Asher B. Durand:  The Artist in Antebellum New York will be on view at the New York Historical Society (New York, NY) until Sept. 30.

In addition, Asher B. Durand:  Intimate Observations will be on view at Cedar Grove:  The Thomas Cole National Site in Catskill, NY, through Oct. 28.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 17 No. 9 — July 2007