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Mountains in Colorado

Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery

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Object Details

Artist
John Frederick Kensett, born Cheshire, CT 1816-died New York City 1872
Luce Center Label
John Frederick Kensett painted peaceful views in muted colors to express a sense of quiet reflection. American artists in the nineteenth century often painted the mountains of the American West rising dramatically from the Great Plains. Kensett, however, chose to paint from inside the mountains, showing successive ridges marching toward the Continental Divide. The dull browns, greens, and grays of the scene evoke the cold, thin atmosphere of Colorado’s high altitudes.
Luce Object Quote
“I long to get amid the scenery of my own country for it abounds with the picturesque, the grand, and the beautiful . . .” Kensett, 1844, quoted in Driscoll and Howat, John Frederick Kensett, An American Master, 1985
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orrin Wickersham June
1870
Object number
1967.136.6
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on paper mounted on paperboard
Dimensions
10 1/4 x 14 in. (25.9 x 35.7 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 13B
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Landscape\mountain
Western
Landscape\Colorado
Landscape\rocks
Record ID
saam_1967.136.6
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7844e017a-e0bf-4820-9654-0df197fa0b8a

Related Content

  • Digital Backgrounds

  • Explore America: Colorado

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
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