Ramapo Hills 1876

David Johnson’s painting "Ramapo Hills" invites us to consider the changing relationship between Americans, their identity, and the land. Born in New York City, Johnson, like many second-generation Hudson River School artists, painted idealized views of nature, often absent of industrialization and the growing presence of humanity. In this quiet landscape, painted in the latter half of the 19th century, we see an expansive view with gentle light and soft clouds. The details, though, encourage us to look closer. Two figures rest beneath a tree; these small figures are dwarfed by the landscape, suggesting a comforting embrace of nature, and the painting offers a place of respite. The end of the Civil War and the start of Reconstruction marked a time of social, racial, and economic upheaval. Johnson offers us the Ramapo Hills as an idyllic scene, and, in doing so, he both acknowledges the trauma of his contemporary moment, while also perhaps longing for a different, less fraught, future.