Forest Interior with Stream
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Forest Interior with Stream

John Frederick Kensett, born Cheshire, CT 1816-died New York City 1872 · ca. 1860-1870

oil on canvas
Smithsonian American Art Museum
CC0 — Public Domain
Smithsonian American Art Museum

John Frederick Kensett painted intimate views of the landscape to express what he called in 1844 "that beautiful harmony in which God has created the universe" (Driscoll and Howat, John Frederick Kensett, An American Master, 1985). Images like Forest Interior with Stream suggested the nineteenth-century faith that the wilderness was a gift for man to enjoy. Kensett painted a small stream with only a few ripples to show an area of calm among the dark, tangled branches. The expressive brushstrokes and scratches of paint suggest he painted this on the spot.

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