CC0 · no rights reserved
Forest Interior with Stream
From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineForest Interior with Stream. ca. 1860-1870. John Frederick Kensett, born Cheshire, CT 1816-died New York City 1872. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mrs. Francis J. McCoy. CC0.
