Object Details
Artist
William James Stillman, born Schenectady, NY 1828-died Surrey, England 1901
Luce Center Label
This image shows Mount Chocorua in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. William James Stillman was a friend of the English art critic John Ruskin and an enthusiastic follower of Ruskin’s belief that “All great art is the expression of man's delight in God's work, not his own.” In this piece, Stillman painted every element in careful detail to show its perfection, from the mossy rocks in the foreground to the patches of snow on the mountain peak.
Luce Object Quote
“The true method of study is, to take small portions of scenes, and there to explore perfectly and with the most insatiable curiosity, every object presented, and to define them with the carefulness of a topographer.” Stillman, The Crayon, March 28, 1855, quoted in Ehrenkranz, Poetic Localities, 1988
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Richard D. Bullock and museum purchase made possible by Walter Beck and Reverend F. Ward Denys
Date
1856
Object number
1999.81
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
12 1/8 x 18 in. (30.8 x 45.6 cm.)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 13B
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Landscape\New Hampshire
Landscape\lake
Landscape\mountain\Mount Chocorua
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1999.81