Catalog Entry/Art Paper

Henry Dukart
11/22/2021
In his painting Summer on Lake George painted in n.d. Asher B. Durand captures
idealism by creating an extremely balanced image. The waterline cuts through the center of the
painting dividing the sensational mountains and clouds from the peaceful water and still grasses
beneath them. The top half of the canvas features two mountains, one shining in the light and
the other is just behind it, drowned in shadow. Above these are equally dramatic clouds with
deep grays and bright whites leaving just a little room for the blue sky to shine through. This
drama is contrasted by the serenity and warmth that the bottom half emulates. The still water,
only broken by a few islands and a single almost indiscernible rowboat, is surrounded by many
dark trees along the shoreline allowing the calm yellows and greens of the grass beneath it to
shine, creating a serene and inviting aura. In the painting nature is mostly undisturbed with only
two small shacks and part of a dirt road visible.
In his 1999 article, George Zimmer argues that painters of the Hudson River School, like
Asher Brown Durand, used their works to perpetuate the ideas that America was a place where
mankind can make a fresh start and that these lands offered prosperity. He goes on to compare
Hudson River School paintings with modern works noting that in the time of the Hudson River
School nature was something to be feared or conquered but now, it has been backed into the
corner. Summer on Lake George perpetuates the ideas Zimmer lays out by showing a peaceful
coexistence of humans and nature that he outlines as a key aspect of the Hudson River School.
Summer on Lake George shows a landscape that has been barely touched by mankind and
asks the viewer to imagine themselves living there, conquering it.

Bibliography
Zimmer, William. “Hudson River School Just Keeps on Rolling.” The New York Times, (October
1999): 624-627
https://www.proquest.com/artbibliographies/docview/110021536/pageviewPDF/
894AB93B7AAF460CPQ/1?accountid=465