Kauterskill Clove, Catskill Mountains

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The Catskill Mountains were a favored subject of Sanford Robinson Gifford, an important landscape painter of the mid-nineteenth century who grew up nearby in Hudson, New York. In Kauterskill Clove, Catskill Mountains , Gifford bathes the forested gorge in golden light. The scene’s thick, rich atmosphere transforms a topographical view into a romantic vista. A miniscule daub of blue paint on the rocks in the foreground suggests the presence of a figure and, in turn, signals the immensity of nature, visualized here as a place of spiritual transcendence. Gifford painted numerous versions of Kauterskill Clove throughout his career, with this small sketch completed during the last year of his life.

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