Untitled (NMG 1,264)
ca. 1945
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Janet Stevens McDowell
Accession Number
1988.58.2
Tags
About this artwork
Much of Will Henry Stevensâs work reflects an appreciation and respect for the natural world, as in this abstracted landscape of trees. Despite growing up in the Midwest, Stevens often depicted the wilderness of North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia in paintings that reflected the influence the Song Dynasty (960-1279) had on his work. Stevens first saw paintings from this period at the Freer Gallery in Washington, DC, around 1912.
Art Historical Context
Will Henry Stevens's *Untitled (NMG 1,264)*, a drawing from around 1945, captures the artist's deep reverence for nature through an abstracted landscape of. Though Stevens grew up in the Midwest his work often evoked the wild, untamed beauty of the American South—specifically North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia. This piece exemplifies his ability to distill the essence of these environments into simplified, evocative forms, inviting viewers to contemplate the harmony between humanity and the natural world. Stevens's style drew profound inspiration from Song Dynasty paintings (960–...