Moonrise
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans
Accession Number
1909.7.3
Tags
About this artwork
Ralph Albert Blakelock is most famous for his moonlit landscapes. In Moonrise, we can just make out the glowing orb behind thickly painted auburn trees. The mysterious yellow-green light from the sky gives a hint of shadowy earth in the foreground and a tree trunk to the left, intensifying the sense of being in a place within the artist's mind.
About the Artist
Ralph Albert Blakelock · 1847–1919
Ralph Albert Blakelock was born on October 15, 1847, in New York City to English-born physician Ralph B. Blakelock and Caroline Olinarg Blakelock. Intending to follow in his father's footsteps, he enrolled at the Free Academy of the City of New York (now City College) in 1864 to study medicine but dropped out after two or three terms, rejecting formal education. Entirely self-taught, Blakelock hon...