GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A pivotal figure in the history of American landscape painting, George Inness developed the tenants of Hudson River School naturalism into a subjective and spiritual Tonalist approach that was widely influential by the end of the century. Born on a farm in Newburgh, New York, in 1825, Inness was afflicted with epilepsy. Unable to pursue a formal education, he decided at an early age to paint. Initial instruction came as an apprentice engraver and from an itinerant artist named John Jesse Barker, after which Inness studied with Regis Gignoux in Brooklyn sometime in 1843-45. He began exhibiting regularly at the National Academy of Design and American Art-Union in 1844. He made several trips to Europe where exposure to other landscape traditions, particularly the work of the Barbizon School and Camille Corot, had a strong impact. His first visit was around 1850, followed by others in 1853-54 and 1870-75. In the early 1860s, Inness lived and worked in Medfield, Massachusetts, and Eagleswood, New Jersey. During this time he was introduced by an artist friend William Page to the philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg, which greatly influenced his ideas on religion and nature and ultimately found expression in his art. In 1868, he was elected to the National Academy of Design, and after his return from Europe in 1875 he worked in Boston and New York and in 1878 opened a studio in Montclair, New Jersey. During the 1870s Inness developed his mature style, moving further from the detailed accuracy of the Hudson River School into broadly brushed compositions that grasp not only a suggestion of external realities but an inner spirituality as well. By the 1880s, his work had achieved national acclaim, and he enjoyed a measure of economic success before his death on a trip to Scotland in 1894.
Excerpt from
Steven A. Nash, "George Inness (1825-1894)", in Dallas Collects American Paintings: Colonial to Early Modern, ed. Robert V. Rozelle (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, 1982), 64.
NOTES
George Inness, the earliest landscapist in the collection, stemmed from this type of painting. It never satisfied him. He said, "I turned to the old masters where found nature rendered grand instead of being belittled by trifling detail and puny execution." He took engravings of the old masters out into the field to compare them to nature. "Then," he said, "the light began to dawn." The result was that Inness learned a fluent notation concerned with light and color. Travel in Europe and familiarity with French and English landscape painters were the finishing touches to his learning from others. He developed what we now recognize as a magnificently poetic economy of description in his works. He painted landscapes with the feel of autumn or the heat of summer as no one had since Constable.
Excerpt from
Joel T. and Kathryn Howard Collection of American Painting, DMFA, exhibition- catalogue from Piction, did not write down the exhibition dates.
View of Rome from Tivoli, 1872, Summer Foliage, 1883, Apple Orchard, 1885,
The paintings of George Inness vary from exact representations of nature to visionary landscapes of the mind. Unlike many 19th century American artists, Inness was able to transcend the change of tastes occurring after the Civil War. The realists of the Hudson River School died out or lost their inspiration, while other artists turned to Munich and France for newer styles. Inness created a personal style which found patronage and critical acclaim even in the 1880s when collectors turned to France for art.
Inness traveled to Europe four times, starting with a trip to Italy in 1850 and to France in 1853-54. The trip to France was important to the artist's styles, for he was affected by the work of Corot and the Barbizon School, both in subject matter and mood. Inness' Hudson River School style can be seen in The Lackawanna Valley (1855) a work that reflects the mid-century optimism of progress (the railroad) and nature. The painting exhibits a freshness of light, informality, breadth of handling (reflecting a Barbizon influence). In the 1860s Inness moved more towards pastoral, narrative scenes, showing a stronger interest in the Barbizon School and in the effects of light, weather and season at a particular location. In 1870 Inness returned to Italy for a four-year period during which the artist's style changed. During the 1870s Inness shows an increasing interest in color and brushwork, the latter becoming looser and freer. Also at this time Inness painted several "Italian" or classical Landscapes, such as the Dallas Museum of Art's View of Rome from Tivoli (1872; 1974.14.FA), which centers on light and its atmospheric effects, with less emphasis on typographical accuracy.
Inness' work of the 1880s extends this interest in color, atmosphere, and brushwork. The format of his paintings becomes less panoramic, and he stops listing the specific locale where the painting was created. His brushwork becomes freer and his forms looser and more fluid, a trend that had begun in the previous decade. The paintings of the 1880s are a personal vision of nature, what the artist called his "impressions," and which are, indeed, a parallel to the achievements of French Impressionism. They were influenced in part by his increasing interest in Swendenborg and mysticism. The DMA owns two paintings from this period, Summer Foliage (1883; 1951.9) and Apple Orchard (1885; 1951.29), both of which exhibit Inness' freer brushwork, looser almost blurred forms, and rich colors. The landscapes are ones of mood and atmosphere, rather than a specific place. His last works are even more abruptly visionary, as the artist withdrew from nature into his mind.
Excerpt from Anne Bromberg, "Description of Selected Paintings in the Collection," DMA Education files, 1987.
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265932203: UMO. [Caption] George Inness, American landscape painter. Source: E.S. Bennett, Smithsonian Institute, Wikimedia Commons, accessed July 15, 2016.
UMO tag added to note (EAS, 08/08/2016)
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- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC~Learn more about the artist and his work at SAAM.
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General Description
A pivotal figure in the history of American landscape painting, George Inness developed the tenants of Hudson River School naturalism into a subjective and spiritual Tonalist approach that was widely influential by the end of the century. Born on a farm in Newburgh, New York, in 1825, Inness was afflicted with epilepsy. Unable to pursue a formal education, he decided at an early age to paint. Initial instruction came as an apprentice engraver and from an itinerant artist named John Jesse Barker, after which Inness studied with Regis Gignoux in Brooklyn sometime in 1843-45. He began exhibiting regularly at the National Academy of Design and American Art-Union in 1844. He made several trips to Europe where exposure to other landscape traditions, particularly the work of the Barbizon School and Camille Corot, had a strong impact. His first visit was around 1850, followed by others in 1853-54 and 1870-75. In the early 1860s, Inness lived and worked in Medfield, Massachusetts, and Eagleswood, New Jersey. During this time he was introduced by an artist friend William Page to the philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg, which greatly influenced his ideas on religion and nature and ultimately found expression in his art. In 1868, he was elected to the National Academy of Design, and after his return from Europe in 1875 he worked in Boston and New York and in 1878 opened a studio in Montclair, New Jersey. During the 1870s Inness developed his mature style, moving further from the detailed accuracy of the Hudson River School into broadly brushed compositions that grasp not only a suggestion of external realities but an inner spirituality as well. By the 1880s, his work had achieved national acclaim, and he enjoyed a measure of economic success before his death on a trip to Scotland in 1894.
Excerpt from
Steven A. Nash, "George Inness (1825-1894)", in Dallas Collects American Paintings: Colonial to Early Modern, ed. Robert V. Rozelle (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, 1982), 64.
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Notes
George Inness, the earliest landscapist in the collection, stemmed from this type of painting. It never satisfied him. He said, "I turned to the old masters where found nature rendered grand instead of being belittled by trifling detail and puny execution." He took engravings of the old masters out into the field to compare them to nature. "Then," he said, "the light began to dawn." The result was that Inness learned a fluent notation concerned with light and color. Travel in Europe and familiarity with French and English landscape painters were the finishing touches to his learning from others. He developed what we now recognize as a magnificently poetic economy of description in his works. He painted landscapes with the feel of autumn or the heat of summer as no one had since Constable.
Excerpt from
Joel T. and Kathryn Howard Collection of American Painting, DMFA, exhibition- catalogue from Piction, did not write down the exhibition dates.
View of Rome from Tivoli, 1872, Summer Foliage, 1883, Apple Orchard, 1885,
The paintings of George Inness vary from exact representations of nature to visionary landscapes of the mind. Unlike many 19th century American artists, Inness was able to transcend the change of tastes occurring after the Civil War. The realists of the Hudson River School died out or lost their inspiration, while other artists turned to Munich and France for newer styles. Inness created a personal style which found patronage and critical acclaim even in the 1880s when collectors turned to France for art.
Inness traveled to Europe four times, starting with a trip to Italy in 1850 and to France in 1853-54. The trip to France was important to the artist's styles, for he was affected by the work of Corot and the Barbizon School, both in subject matter and mood. Inness' Hudson River School style can be seen in The Lackawanna Valley (1855) a work that reflects the mid-century optimism of progress (the railroad) and nature. The painting exhibits a freshness of light, informality, breadth of handling (reflecting a Barbizon influence). In the 1860s Inness moved more towards pastoral, narrative scenes, showing a stronger interest in the Barbizon School and in the effects of light, weather and season at a particular location. In 1870 Inness returned to Italy for a four-year period during which the artist's style changed. During the 1870s Inness shows an increasing interest in color and brushwork, the latter becoming looser and freer. Also at this time Inness painted several "Italian" or classical Landscapes, such as the Dallas Museum of Art's View of Rome from Tivoli (1872; 1974.14.FA), which centers on light and its atmospheric effects, with less emphasis on typographical accuracy.
Inness' work of the 1880s extends this interest in color, atmosphere, and brushwork. The format of his paintings becomes less panoramic, and he stops listing the specific locale where the painting was created. His brushwork becomes freer and his forms looser and more fluid, a trend that had begun in the previous decade. The paintings of the 1880s are a personal vision of nature, what the artist called his "impressions," and which are, indeed, a parallel to the achievements of French Impressionism. They were influenced in part by his increasing interest in Swendenborg and mysticism. The DMA owns two paintings from this period, Summer Foliage (1883; 1951.9) and Apple Orchard (1885; 1951.29), both of which exhibit Inness' freer brushwork, looser almost blurred forms, and rich colors. The landscapes are ones of mood and atmosphere, rather than a specific place. His last works are even more abruptly visionary, as the artist withdrew from nature into his mind.
Excerpt from Anne Bromberg, "Description of Selected Paintings in the Collection," DMA Education files, 1987.
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