Sundown
1884
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans
Accession Number
1909.7.32
Tags
About this artwork
George Inness painted peaceful views of the landscape in soft, glowing colors and often included people, animals, and buildings. Sentimental scenes like this of people enjoying nature were popular during the nineteenth century, as towns and industry gradually took over the landscape. In this image, Inness captured the moment just before sunset when everything is bathed in golden light. He painted the figures in the same rich tones as the landscape, underscoring his belief in the harmony between ...
About the Artist
George Inness · 1825–1894
George Inness (1825–1894) was an American landscape painter regarded as one of the most important figures in nineteenth-century American art, bridging the Hudson River School tradition and a more personal, spiritually-inflected vision of nature. Born near Newburgh, New York, he received limited formal training, studying briefly with Régis François Gignoux, but was largely self-taught, developing h...