River Scene 1854

This is Asher Brown Durand’s “River Scene,” an oil on canvas. Although the date of this work is unknown, it typifies American landscape painting in the mid-19th century. Durand was a leading member of the Hudson River School, a group of painters who found spiritual and aesthetic nourishment in the American landscape. Yet, as we stand here gazing upon this verdant scene, we must remember that Durand's vision of nature often excluded the realities of westward expansion and its impact on Native American populations. Where are the indigenous people who inhabited these landscapes? Where is the history of their displacement? The artist's romanticized view of the American landscape invites us to reflect on how notions of nature and national identity are intertwined, and who gets to belong in that vision. Doesn't the absence of this history make the painting feel strangely incomplete?