1931.6 George Inness, Stream in the Mountains | DMA Staging Content Management System

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

When it first entered the Dallas Museum of Art’s collection in 1931, this painting was believed to be a work by the hand of Asher B. Durand, a leading figure of the first generation of Hudson River school painters. Given Durand’s reverential and naturalistic portrayal of landscapes over his entire career and the acknowledged impact he had on the early works of the young painter George Inness, it is possible to understand how this unsigned work was mistaken as a creation by the older artist. Yet, at some unrecorded point prior to 1974, the authorship was questioned and the painting’s status was downgraded to possibly being by Durand—a classification that held fast until August of 2012.

Because of the questionable authorship, the painting was relegated to storage for many years. Recently, the strength of the composition and its competent execution compelled a curator to embark on a concerted exploration of the work. Through a close comparison of salient factors, including paint application and the execution of details such as foliage and rocks, she eliminated various artists as the potential creator; however, close scrutiny of early works by George Inness yielded the greatest degree of parity in matters of execution. During the course of her research the curator found a pen-and-ink drawing with touches of gouache that contained the key compositional elements of the Dallas work—the most eye-catching being the pointing trapezoidal rock that appears in the center of both drawing and painting.

The discovery of the relationship between the compositional study and the painting allows us a rare opportunity to observe Inness’s artistic process at a period (c. 1850) for which few such pairings exist. Historically, the painting also falls into a period (1848– 51) when the artist combined the vestiges of Durand’s naturalism with the sculptural aspects of Dutch landscape painting. Inness’s painting style changed radically again with his first trip to Europe in 1851.

Adapted from

Sue Canterbury, DMA label copy, 2012

NOTES

c. 1850

(why search dates 1825-1875?)

Object File Reviewed

TMS done

Geography unverified---spent part of this period in Europe and part in US

Former title: In the Woods

Attributed to Asher B. Durand by 1974, attributed to George Inness in 2012

Cecil A. Keating, the donor of this painting, was "one of the biggest backers of the State Fair of Texas." Sunset Newsletter, Volume 12, Issue 1, August 2005, p. 2

Related Object Heilbrunn Timeline In the Woods Asher b. Durand 1855 https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/95.13.1/

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Inness, George (American, 1825-1894)

Cultures

Geography

Process/materials

Oil on canvas

Historical periods

1800-1860, United States, "Exploration, Expansion, Nationalism, and Reform"

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE

From 1931: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, bequest of Cecil A. Keating [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History~Read a biography of George Inness from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Princeton University Art Museum~View the drawing that led to the reattribution of authorship of this painting.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES

Apply to objects where number equals 1931.6

General Description

When it first entered the Dallas Museum of Art’s collection in 1931, this painting was believed to be a work by the hand of Asher B. Durand, a leading figure of the first generation of Hudson River school painters. Given Durand’s reverential and naturalistic portrayal of landscapes over his entire career and the acknowledged impact he had on the early works of the young painter George Inness, it is possible to understand how this unsigned work was mistaken as a creation by the older artist. Yet, at some unrecorded point prior to 1974, the authorship was questioned and the painting’s status was downgraded to possibly being by Durand—a classification that held fast until August of 2012.

Because of the questionable authorship, the painting was relegated to storage for many years. Recently, the strength of the composition and its competent execution compelled a curator to embark on a concerted exploration of the work. Through a close comparison of salient factors, including paint application and the execution of details such as foliage and rocks, she eliminated various artists as the potential creator; however, close scrutiny of early works by George Inness yielded the greatest degree of parity in matters of execution. During the course of her research the curator found a pen-and-ink drawing with touches of gouache that contained the key compositional elements of the Dallas work—the most eye-catching being the pointing trapezoidal rock that appears in the center of both drawing and painting.