Wooded Hills, Mt. Desert Island, Maine
September 1860
Classification
landscapes
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Louis P. Church
Accession Number
1917-4-315-c
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Frederic Edwin Church, a leading figure of the Hudson River School, the wild beauty of Mount Desert Island, Maine, in *Wooded Hills* from September 1860. This landscape the Romantic movement's reverence for untamed American nature, where artists like Church portrayed the wilderness as a divine, sublime force. Painted on the eve of the Civil War, it evokes a sense of national and escape amid growing tensions, showcasing Church's meticulous observation of light, foliage, and topography during his summer sketching trips to coastal Maine. As a quintessential Hudson River School work, *Wooded Hill...