Asher Brown Durand Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Asher Brown Durand
Asher Brown Durand, circa 1869, by Abraham Bogardus
Born	(1796-08-21)August 21, 1796 Maplewood, New Jersey
Died	September 17, 1886(1886-09-17) (aged 90) Maplewood, New Jersey
Nationality	American
Known for	Painting, Landscape art
Movement	Hudson River School

Asher Brown Durand (born August 21, 1796 – died September 17, 1886) was an American painter. He was an important member of the Hudson River School, a group of artists known for their beautiful landscape paintings.

Early Life and Engraving
Becoming a Painter
Famous Paintings
Gallery
External video
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Engraving

Asher Brown Durand was born and died in Maplewood, New Jersey. Back then, this town was called Jefferson Village. He was one of eleven children. His father worked as a watchmaker and a silversmith.

From 1812 to 1817, Durand trained to be an engraver. An engraver carves designs onto metal plates, which can then be used to print images. Later, he worked with Charles Cushing Wright and managed their company's office in New York.

In 1823, Durand became famous for engraving a copy of the Declaration of Independence painting by John Trumbull. This work showed everyone he was one of the best engravers in the country.

Durand also helped start the New York Drawing Association in 1825. This group later became the National Academy of Design. He was even the president of this important art organization from 1845 to 1861.

His engravings were so good that they were used for the portraits on America's first postage stamps in 1847. He also engraved some stamps in 1851 with his brother, Cyrus.

Becoming a Painter

Around 1830, Durand became more interested in oil painting. A supporter named Luman Reed encouraged him to switch from engraving to painting.

In 1837, Durand went on a sketching trip with his friend, the famous painter Thomas Cole. They explored Schroon Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. After this trip, Durand started focusing on landscape painting.

He spent his summers drawing and painting outdoors in places like the Catskill Mountains, the Adirondacks, and the White Mountains in New Hampshire. He made many drawings and oil sketches. These outdoor studies helped him create his finished paintings, which became key examples of the Hudson River School style.

Asher Durand, Kindred Spirits, 1849

From left to right: Henry Kirke Brown, Henry Peters Gray and Durand, 1850

Durand was especially known for how carefully he painted trees, rocks, and leaves. He believed artists should draw directly from nature and try to make their art as realistic as possible. He once wrote that artists should "scrupulously accept whatever [nature] presents him." This means to draw exactly what you see.

Like other artists in the Hudson River School, Durand also believed that nature showed the amazing work of God. He wrote about these ideas in his essays called "Letters on Landscape Painting." He said that the main goal of landscape art is to show "the work of God in the visible creation."

Famous Paintings

One of Durand's most famous paintings is Kindred Spirits from 1849. It shows his friend, artist Thomas Cole, and poet William Cullen Bryant in a beautiful Catskills landscape. Durand painted this artwork to honor Cole after he passed away in 1848. It was also a gift for Bryant.

This painting was given to the New York Public Library in 1904. In 2005, it was sold for a very high price to Alice Walton. At the time, it was one of the most expensive American paintings ever sold.

Another important painting by Durand is Progress (1853). A railroad executive asked him to paint it. The painting shows America changing, from wild nature on the left (where Native Americans are seen) to a busy, developed area on the right. On the right side, you can see roads, telegraph wires, canals, buildings, railroads, and steamboats. In 2018, this painting was bought and given to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

The First Harvest in the Wilderness, c. 1855, by Asher B. Durand, at the Brooklyn Museum

In 2007, the Brooklyn Museum held a special art show featuring almost sixty of Durand's paintings. It was called "Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape." Durand is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.