Mohonk, 1871 (from Sketchbook)
ca. 1870
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
5 1/2 x 8 3/4 in. (14 x 22.2 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of S.B. Luyster, 1936
Accession Number
36.124cc recto
Tags
Art Historical Context
Daniel Huntington's *Mohonk, 1871 (from Sketchbook)* captures the serene beauty of Lake Mohonk in New York's Hudson Valley, a popular retreat for artists during the Gilded Age. Created around 1870 as a graphite sketch on paper, this intimate 5½ x 8¾-inch study exemplifies the quick, on-site observations that fueled 19th-century American landscape painting. Huntington, a leading figure in the Hudson River School tradition, favored such naturalistic scenes, blending Romantic reverence for nature with precise detail. Rendered in graphite—a versatile medium prized for its portability and tonal ra...
About the Artist
Daniel Huntington · 1816–1906
Daniel Huntington (1816–1906) was born into a prominent New York family on October 4, 1816, descending from distinguished New England lineage. His early education began at age fourteen at Smith's Academy in New Haven, followed by Yale College, where he studied with Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor, artist, and president of the National Academy of Design, in 1835. After a disciplinary incident invo...