Looking upon the River
Julie Hart Beers
1880
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
51.3 × 35.9 cm (20 3/16 × 14 1/8 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
262794
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In this scenic composition, Julie Hart Beers contrasted the lush vegetation of a forest in the foreground with the luminous view of a waterway and mountains beyond. She employed swift brushwork to describe the setting, including flourishes to suggest two or three figures alongside a boat at center. Beers built a successful professional career in landscape painting beginning in the 1860s, seizing opportunities available to her—because her brothers were also painters—for training and studio space...