The Life and Times of Asher B. Durand

by John Durand, Asher Brown Durand (Illustrator)

Perhaps best known as the painter of Kindred Spirits, the quintessential Hudson River School painting, Asher B. Durand (1796 to 1886) was one of the most important American artists of the nineteenth century, a central figure as an artist, as a founder of art institutions, and as the acknowledged leader of the American landscape school from his election as president of the National Academy of Design in 1845 until his death at the age of ninety. Durand's six-decade career spanned the period from the earliest efforts of artists and writers to construct a national cultural identity on through the mid-century triumph and, later, the eclipse of what is now known as the Hudson River School. In this biography first published in 1894, Durand's son John reconstructed the artist's life from family records and documents and his own recollections, creating what has become an essential source of biographical data on Durand, his paintings, his engravings, and his patrons. This edition features a new introduction by Linda S. Ferber, vice president and museum director for the New York Historical Society.

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1970

About the author

1822-1908. Son of Asher Brown Durand.

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a typical biography, but still an insightful glimpse into America’s early artistic identity and how it was formed. The author quotes generously from letters and journals (making this more like annotated letters than an artist’s biography). Durand’s journals from his travels abroad and his impressions of the old masters were a highlight.