Person Information

Biography

Found in 18410000Conversation_JohnCarlin_WHS_FMS1. Did a portrait of WHS.
Asher Durand was born in New Jersey in 1796. In 1812 he was apprenticed to an engraver and became his partner by 1820. In 1823 he established his reputation as a printmaker when he made an engraving of John Trumball's painting of the Declaration of Independence. This gave him the reputation of being the finest engraver in the United States. In the 1830s he stopped engraving and became a portrait painter of U.S. presidents and other Americans who were prominent, both politically and socially. In 1837 he changed his concentration to landscape painting while on an expedition to the Adirondacks with Thomas Cole to make sketches. While doing this he made hundreds of drawings and oil sketches which he later included in his finished paintings. In 1840 and 1841 he traveled in Europe, studying the old masters and sketching nature. Durand helped to found the National Academy of Design in New York City and served as its second president from 1845 until 1861. Durand's son, John, had founded an important art periodical called the Crayon which, in 1855, published Asher Durand's "Letters on Landscape Painting." He retired in 1869 and stopped painting in 1878. He died in New Jersey in 1886.

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Biography and Citation Information:
Biography: 
Found in 18410000Conversation_JohnCarlin_WHS_FMS1. Did a portrait of WHS. Asher Durand was born in New Jersey in 1796. In 1812 he was apprenticed to an engraver and became his partner by 1820. In 1823 he established his reputation as a printmaker when he made an engraving of John Trumball's painting of the Declaration of Independence. This gave him the reputation of being the finest engraver in the United States. In the 1830s he stopped engraving and became a portrait painter of U.S. presidents and other Americans who were prominent, both politically and socially. In 1837 he changed his concentration to landscape painting while on an expedition to the Adirondacks with Thomas Cole to make sketches. While doing this he made hundreds of drawings and oil sketches which he later included in his finished paintings. In 1840 and 1841 he traveled in Europe, studying the old masters and sketching nature. Durand helped to found the National Academy of Design in New York City and served as its second president from 1845 until 1861. Durand's son, John, had founded an important art periodical called the Crayon which, in 1855, published Asher Durand's "Letters on Landscape Painting." He retired in 1869 and stopped painting in 1878. He died in New Jersey in 1886.
Citation Type: 
Website
Citation URL: 
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?ID=1364
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Smithsonian American Art Museum
Website Viewing Date: 
Friday, April 4, 2014 - 10:15
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Citation Type: 
Website
Citation URL: 
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?ID=1364
Title of Webpage: 
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Website Viewing Date: 
Friday, April 4, 2014 - 10:15
Website Last Modified Date: 
Friday, April 4, 2014 - 10:15
Citation for Death Info:
Citation Type: 
Website
Citation URL: 
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?ID=1364
Title of Webpage: 
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Website Viewing Date: 
Friday, April 4, 2014 - 10:15
Website Last Modified Date: 
Friday, April 4, 2014 - 10:15