Sketch, Maple Tree

About this artwork

Research in Progress

Art Historical Context

Samuel Colman’s “Sketch, Maple Tree,” created on June 9, 1915, captures a quiet moment of observation from the artist’s later years. Born in 1832, Colman was a respected American painter and draftsman whose career spanned the Hudson River School era and extended into the early twentieth century. By the time he made this drawing, at age eighty-three, he had traveled extensively and exhibited widely, yet he continued to find inspiration in the natural world close at hand. Classified simply as a drawing, the work reflects Colman’s lifelong habit of sketching outdoors to record light, form, and seasonal change. The precise date suggests a personal, almost diaristic impulse—perhaps a study made during a walk or from a window. Its presence in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, gifted by the artist’s wife, underscores the institution’s commitment to preserving the full range of an artist’s output, including intimate studies that reveal process and perception. Though research on the piece is ongoing, the sketch offers visitors a glimpse of Colman’s enduring attentiveness to nature even in his final years.