JOHN FREDERICK KENSETT

John Frederick Kensett was one of the most prominent members of the landscape school has been more consistently remembered than many of his contemporaries. He was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, started as an engraver under his father, then with his uncle, Alfred Daggett. Painting first as a hobby, he gradually turned to this medium as his established form of expression. In 1840 he accompanied Durand to Europe and remained seven years; he spent a long time in England and two years in Italy. Reaching New York in 1848, he embarked on a successful career as one of our leading landscape painters. His early training as an engraver gave him a sound basis as a draughtsman and his study abroad added to his understanding of form and color. More versatile than many painters of his day, he applied himself to a variety of subjects with equal success. His leafy Catskill scenes with rocky pools are done with great care for detail and particular interest in the texture of rocks--a personal trait by which his work can always be recognized. In contrast to these more detailed canvases are the coast scenes with clear blue areas of water and crisply painted shore lines. In the late fifties he painted some of his most outstanding pictures at Newport; several important examples of these are in the exhibition, seen by the public for the first time since Kensett's own day. Toward the end of his life he was interested in atmospheric effects, as for instance in the dreamy "Lake George" done in 1871. His work is always restrained, never grandiose or blatant, and everything is executed with care and deliberation. Though he went West in 1866, he was not inspired to attempt super-dramatic interpretations of the Rockies.

Information found in the artist's binder in The Print Study Room.