Study of Forrest (from Sketchbook)
Medium
Graphite, ink, on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. (12.4 x 20 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Frederick K. Detwiller, 1930
Accession Number
30.138.7 verso
Tags
Art Historical Context
Henry Ward Ranger's *Study of Forrest (frombook)* offers an intimate glimpse into the working process of this prominent American landscape artist (1858–1916). Rendered in graphite and ink on a modest of paper measuring just 4 7/8 x 7 7/8 inches, this quick sketch captures the intricate textures and depths of a forest scene. As a study from Ranger's personal sketchbook, it reflects his keen observation of nature, likely gathered during plein air excursions that informed his larger paintings. Ranger, a key figure in American Tonalism—a late 19th-century movement emphasizing atmospheric mood ove...
About the Artist
Henry Ward Ranger · 1858–1916
Henry Ward Ranger was born in 1858 in Syracuse, New York, and grew up to become one of the leading American landscape painters of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He received his early training in the United States before traveling extensively in Europe, where he spent significant time studying in Holland and England. The Dutch Barbizon painters — particularly the Hague School ar...