English: This painting was commissioned by William T. Walters in 1858, when the 62-year-old Durand was at the height of his fame and technical skill. The vertical format of the composition was a trademark of the artist, allowing him to exploit the grandeur of the sycamore trees as a means of framing the expansive landscape beyond.
Durand's approach to the "sublime landscape" was modeled on that of Thomas Cole (1801–48), founder of the Hudson River School of painting. The painters of this school explored the countryside of the eastern United States, particularly the Adirondack Mountains and the Catskills. Their paintings often reflect the Transcendental philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82), who believed that all of nature bore testimony to a spiritual truth that could be understood through personal intuition.
1858年: commissioned by William T. Walters, 巴尔的摩 [Commissioned June 8, 1858, payment made May 3, 1859. See letters from Walters to Durand in the New York Public Library, Manuscript Division.]
Romanticism in America. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1940.
Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1998–2001.
The American Artist as Painter and Draftsman. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2001.
Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape、布鲁克林博物馆、Brooklyn、2007年3月30日–2007年7月29日、史密森尼美国艺术博物馆、Washington, D. C.、2007年9月14日–2007年1月6日、圣迭戈艺术博物馆、圣迭戈、2008年2月2日–2008年4月27日
== {{int:filedesc}} == {{Walters Art Museum artwork |artist = {{Creator:Asher Brown Durand}} |title = ''The Catskills'' |description = {{en|This painting was commissioned by William T. Walters in 1858, when the 62-year-old Dur...