Untitled (Wild Hazelnut, Corylus Americana)
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Carolann Smurthwaite in memory of her mother, Caroline Atherton Connell Smurthwaite
Accession Number
1983.83.32
Tags
Art Historical Context
George Elbert Burr's *Untitled (Wild Hazeln, Corylus Americana)* created in 1889, is a captivating drawing that showcases the artist's keen eye for nature's details. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Smithsonian Collection, work focuses on the wild hazelnut (*Corylus americana*), native North American shrub prized for its edible nuts and resilient growth in woodlands and thickets. Through precise lines and subtle shading typical of 19th-century drawings, Burr renders the plant's characteristic leaves, catkins, and nuts, inviting viewers to marvel at its humble beauty. Dating to ...
About the Artist
George Elbert Burr
George Elbert Burr was an American printmaker and watercolorist whose career spanned the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, earning him a reputation as one of the foremost etchers of the American West. Born in 1859 in Monroe Falls, Ohio, Burr trained as a commercial illustrator before turning his full attention to fine art. He honed his craft through diligent self-study and close obser...