New-York Historical Society

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

Piscina Mirabilis, Bacoli, Italy (fol. 11r of the second European sketch-book), 1841
Asher B. Durand (1796–1886)
Graphite on ivory paper
New-York Historical Society

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand in the New-York Historical Society

Teaser:

Asher B. Durand (1796–1886), a central artist of the Hudson River School, spent nearly twenty-four years as a successful commercial engraver. His talent as an engraver was based on his drawing skills, explaining his insistence on the importance of outline, the precise renderings in his sketchbooks and drawings, and his devotion to sketching with graphite outdoors. The artist’s empiricism and dedication to Nature is evident in the ten sketchbooks (two fragmentary from sketchbooks now disassembled), 310 drawings, and 79 paintings held by the Historical Society, where they are joined by an extensive trove of objects, documents, and prints that make it the largest single Durand collection extant.

Teaser image:

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The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

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Whorllebury[?] Mountain near Schroon Lake, New York; from the disassembled "Schroon Lake Sketchbook"

Collections:

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

Classification:

DRAWINGS

Is owned by NYHS:

Yes

Highlight:

Not promoted

Date:

1837

Medium:

Graphite on paper

Dimensions:

Overall: 9 1/4 x 13 1/4 in. ( 23.5 x 33.7 cm )

Description:

Landscape

Credit Line:

Gift of Miss Nora Durand Woodman

Object Number:

1918.91

Inscriptions:

Inscribed at lower right in graphite: "Whorllebury Mt. near Schroon Lake / July 4th. 1837 looking north"

Provenance:

Descent through the artist's family

Date End:

1837

eMuseum Object ID:

35159

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Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.

Sketchbook with 59 Folios, 10 blank

Collections:

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

Classification:

DRAWINGS

Is owned by NYHS:

Yes

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Date:

1866

Medium:

Graphite and white chalk on off-white, brown, and green paper bound into a sketchbook

Dimensions:

Overall: 5 x 8 in. ( 12.7 x 20.3 cm )

Credit Line:

Gift of Miss Nora Durand Woodman

Object Number:

1935.173

Marks:

Inscribed: inside of front cover at upper right:"A. B. Durand / 91 Amity St./ New York", and the later address "South Orange, N.J." Inscribed: inside front cover at center: "The work of / my Father. / Property of Lucy M. Durand Woodman" Inscribed: ins

Inscriptions:

Inscribed on inner front cover at upper right in graphite: "A.B. Durand / 91 Amity… / New York"; at left: "South Orange / N.J."; at center: "The work of / my Father / ['Property of' by a later hand] Lucy M. Durand Woodman"

Gallery Label:

Durand filled this pocket sketchbook with careful studies of tree trunks, branches and boulders. He usually worked in an upright format, echoing the vertical thrust of his subjects and sometimes extending his drawing over both pages in order to capture all of the motifs that interested him.

Provenance:

Descent through the artist's family

Date End:

1866

eMuseum Object ID:

35078

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Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.

Study of Two Trees; from the disassembled "Kingston Sketchbook"

Collections:

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

Classification:

DRAWINGS

Is owned by NYHS:

Yes

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Date:

c. 1838

Medium:

Graphite on paper

Dimensions:

Overall: 9 7/8 x 15 in. ( 25.1 x 38.1 cm )

Description:

Landscape details

Credit Line:

Gift of Miss Nora Durand Woodman

Object Number:

1918.102

Inscriptions:

Inscribed at upper right in graphite: "4."

Provenance:

Descent through the artist's family

Date End:

1838

eMuseum Object ID:

35035

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OFF

Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.

Study of Leaves and Rocks; from the disassembled "Schroon Lake Sketchbook"

Collections:

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

Classification:

DRAWINGS

Is owned by NYHS:

Yes

Highlight:

Not promoted

Date:

1837

Medium:

Graphite on paper

Dimensions:

Overall: 9 1/4 x 13 1/4 in. ( 23.5 x 33.7 cm )

Description:

Landscape

Credit Line:

Gift of Miss Nora Durand Woodman

Object Number:

1918.92

Provenance:

Descent through the artist's family

Date End:

1837

eMuseum Object ID:

28160

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OFF

Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.

Sketchbook with 44 Folios, 14 blank

Collections:

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

Classification:

DRAWINGS

Is owned by NYHS:

Yes

Highlight:

Not promoted

Medium:

Graphite and white gouache on paper bound into a sketchbook

Dimensions:

Overall: 9 1/4 x 12 1/4 in. ( 23.5 x 31.1 cm )

Description:

Sketchbook

Credit Line:

Gift of Miss Nora Durand Woodman

Object Number:

1918.60

Inscriptions:

Inscribed on inner front cover at upper left in graphite: "A.B.Durand"

Gallery Label:

This detailed study, highlighted with white, focuses our attention on the massive tree with roots exposed and clinging to the eroding bank of a river or lake. The motif was a favorite of the artist and appears frequently in Durand's oil studies and exhibition paintings.

Provenance:

Descent through the artist's family

Date End:

eMuseum Object ID:

20833

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OFF

Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.

Sketchbook with 43 Folios

Collections:

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

Is owned by NYHS:

Yes

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Date:

1841

Medium:

Graphite, gouache, and watercolor on various shades of beige and brown paper bound into a sketchbook

Dimensions:

Overall: 8 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. (22.2 x 29.8 cm)

Description:

Sketchbook

Credit Line:

Gift of Miss Nora Durand Woodman

Object Number:

1932.58

Inscriptions:

Inscribed on inner front cover at upper left in graphite: "A.B Durand / Rome March 8th. 1841"; on inner back cover at upper left: " A.B Durand / Rome March 8th. 1841”; on inner back cover at upper left: “amt. paid for Cour…by ABD. / Bill at Capri (Hotel & c) — $5-6 carleni / paid to Boatman… —— 7 - 7. / Extra Bono…to Ditto — 1 - 0 — / Bill at Sorrento (Hotel & c) — 5 ” 6 / fare from Sorto to Naples / & fachini] — 1 ” 4 / 21 — 0” and various mathematical inscriptions

Provenance:

Descent through the artist's family

Date End:

1841

eMuseum Object ID:

20832

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Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.

Sketchbook with 50 Folios

Collections:

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

Is owned by NYHS:

Yes

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Not promoted

Date:

1840-41

Medium:

Graphite on beige paper bound into a sketchbook

Dimensions:

Overall: 11 5/8 x 18 in. (29.5 x 45.7 cm)

Description:

Sketchbook

Credit Line:

Gift of Miss Nora Durand Woodman

Object Number:

X.486

Inscriptions:

Inscribed on inner front cover at upper right in graphite: "Made for me by Meyer / Lucerne Sep. 15th 1840 / Price 9 1/2 Franks / A.B.D."; on inner back cover 1983 label describing stabilization/conservation treatment

Gallery Label:

The sketchbook was custom made in Lucerne. In Durand's Journal (NYPL) of the first part of his European trip for the first part of his European trip on p. 138 (frame 70 in the microfilm) on Monday, 14 September 1840, he notes:"...gave orders for a new sketchbook." It was made to accommodate the fabulous, sometimes panoramic, views of Swiss sites and the Alps in this sketchbook. Inside cover inscribed at upper right in graphite: "Made for me by Meyer / Lucerne Setp. 15th 1840 / Price 9 1/2 Franks / A.B.D."

Provenance:

Descent through the artist's family

Date End:

1841

eMuseum Object ID:

20831

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OFF

Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.

Sketchbook with 45 Folios, 3 blank

Collections:

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

Classification:

DRAWINGS

Is owned by NYHS:

Yes

Highlight:

Not promoted

Date:

1844-1845

Medium:

Graphite and white gouache on beige paper bound into a sketchbook

Dimensions:

Overall: 12 1/4 x 18 1/2 in. (31.1 x 47 cm)

Description:

Sketchbook

Credit Line:

Gift of Miss Nora Durand Woodman, granddaughter of the artist

Object Number:

X.485[dup]

Inscriptions:

Inscribed on inner front cover at upper right in graphite: "A.B.D."; on inner back cover 1983 label describing stabilization/conservation treatment

Date End:

1845

eMuseum Object ID:

20830

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OFF

Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.

Sketchbook with 35 Folios, 2 blank

Collections:

The Sketchbooks of Asher B. Durand

Classification:

DRAWINGS

Is owned by NYHS:

Yes

Highlight:

Not promoted

Date:

1841

Medium:

Graphite on beige paper bound into a sketchbook

Dimensions:

Overall: 9 9/16 x 13 1/2 in. (24.3 x 34.3 cm)

Description:

Sketchbook

Credit Line:

Gift of Miss Nora Durand Woodman

Object Number:

1918.59

Inscriptions:

Inscribed on inner front cover along upper edge in graphite: "$1.80 Rome March 31st. 1841 / A.B.D."; inner back cover at upper right: "Valet -- 2 / Church -- 3 / Dinner 11 1/2"

Provenance:

Descent through the artist's family

Date End:

1841

eMuseum Object ID:

20829

Sort order:

Exclude from TMS update:

OFF

Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.