Asher Brown Durand

In the summer of 1855, Asher B. Durand, America’s leading landscape painter, returned to the White Mountains of New Hampshire after a long absence. He had recently published a series of articles urging young painters to find beauty in the pristine landscapes of America, rather than seek exotic locations abroad. He also encouraged them to work directly from nature and not impose narrative content or dramatic episodes of weather. Following his own advice to adhere to the “magnitude of objects and extent of space,” he rendered this stark view of Mount Chocorua, a summit known for its sheer precipices and harsh profile.