Kindred SpiritsAsher B. Durand and the American Landscape
Published by GILES in association with the Brooklyn Museum, New York
Publish Date — March 2007 (UK and USA)
Dimensions — 256 pages, 280 x 240mm (9 ½ x 11 in.), portrait
Illustrations — 100 colour and 100 b & w illustrations
Hardback price — UK£30.00/US$55.00
ISBN — 1-904832-26-1
ISBN — 978-1-904832-26-3
Book Details (pdf) — Kindred_Spirits_ai.pdf
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Sales Points
Publication accompanies the first dedicated exhibition of Durand’s work since 1973
Reproduces works from every aspect of Durand’s long career as an engraver, portrait painter and landscape artist, 100 of which are reproduced in stunning colour plates, including the iconic Kindred Spirits (1849) and The First Harvest in the Wilderness (1855)
Includes an illustrated biographical chronology and an appendix of Durand’s “Letters on Landscape Painting,” published in their entirety for the first time since their original publication in the Crayon in 1855
About the Book
This major new volume revisits for the first time in 30 years the world and the works of Asher B. Durand (1796-1886), one of 19th-century America’s most important artists. Durand was a central figure, both as an artist and as the major spokesman for the American landscape school, and was the acknowledged dean of American landscape painting from his election as president of the National Academy of Design in 1845 until his death at the age of ninety.
Five chapters reconstruct Durand’s career before and after the moment when landscape painting became his passion, so re-establishing the full scope of his achievement. The authors consider landscape production, patronage, markets and criticism during the six decades of Durand’s career. They take us from the earliest efforts of artists to create a national cultural identity by means of American scenery, through the mid-century triumph and, later, the eclipse of what is now called the Hudson River School.
This survey features 100 colour and 100 black and white illustrations, including paintings, engravings and drawings by Durand, as well as numerous photographs and comparative images. This long over-due volume reevaluates Durand's position as a major American landscape artist, his relationship with other artists including Thomas Cole, and his critical role in the American art world of the antebellum period
