Female Nude, Study for "Mercy's Dream"
ca. 1857â58
Medium
figures
Classification
figures
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Bequest of Erskine Hewitt
Accession Number
1942-50-43
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Daniel Huntington (1816–6), a prominent American associated with the Hudson River School later president of the National Academy of, created this *Female Nude, Study for "Mercy's Dream"* around 1857–58. As a preparatory sketch from his time working on larger historical and allegorical compositions, it exemplifies the academic rigor Huntington brought back from his European training. In mid-19th-century America, where Puritan sensibilities often shied away from the unclothed form, such nude studies were rare and typically reserved for private artistic practice, highlighting Huntington's commitm...