The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Trees on a Rocky Hillside

c. 1849

Asher B. Durand

(American, 1796–1886)
America
oil on canvas
Framed: 64.8 x 83.2 x 7.9 cm (25 1/2 x 32 3/4 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 42.5 x 61.3 cm (16 3/4 x 24 1/8 in.); Former: 53.5 x 72 x 6.5 cm (21 1/16 x 28 3/8 x 2 9/16 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1968.21
Location: 206 American Landscape

Did You Know?

Before becoming a painter, Durand designed paper currency for the federal government.

Description

Durand was one of the first American artists to paint outdoors, rather than in the confines of a studio, which was the longstanding tradition. This outdoor oil sketch of a seemingly random corner of the woods offers an intimate view of a rock outcropping amid lush vegetation. Its small-scale, unusually cropped composition contrasts with the sweeping vistas in many other landscapes of the era.
  • 1968-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Until 1968
    (Kennedy Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    c. 1966-1968
    [Private collection, Philadelphia, probably consigned to Kennedy Galleries?]
    1966
    (Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, NY, Nov. 17, 1966, lot 48)
    -1966
    Private collection
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 1 After the painting failed to sell at the 1966 Sotheby's sale, it was purchased by a private collector.  A letter from Lawrence Fleischman of Kennedy Galleries states that the painting came from a private collection in Philadelphia.  The Kennedy Galleries records at the Archives of American Art contain no information concerning their acquisition of the painting.
  • null
    Talbot, William S. “American Visions of Wilderness.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 56, no. 4 (April 1969): 151–166. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 53, fig. 2 www.jstor.org
    Adams, Henry. What's American about American art?: a gallery tour in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2008. Reproduced: p. 68 - 69
  • Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).
    Cleveland, OH, Cleveland Museum of Art, Visions of Landscape: East and West (17 February - 21 March 1982).
    Near-Looking: A Close-Focus Look at a Basic Thread of American Art. Northern Illinois University Art Gallery, DeKalb, IL (organizer) (October 27-November 22, 1974).
    Dekalb, IL, Northern Illinois University Art Gallery, Near-Looking: A Close-Focus Look at a Basic Thread of American Art (27 October - 22 November 1974), possibly traveled to South Bend, IN, Snite Art Gallery, University of Notre Dame (1 December 1974 - 26 January 1975), no. 15, ill. p. 36.
    Durand. Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ (organizer) (October 24-November 28, 1971).
    Montclair, NJ, Montclair Art Museum, A.B. Durand, 1796 - 1886 (24 October - 28 November 1971), no. 70, ill. p. 63 as Rocks and Trees.
    Year in Review for 1968. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-March 9, 1969).
    Cleveland, OH, Cleveland Museum of Art, Year in Review for 1968 (29 January - 9 March 1969).
  • {{cite web|title=Trees on a Rocky Hillside|url=false|author=Asher B. Durand|year=c. 1849|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1968.21