Artwork
Landscape
Landscape is an oil painting by the Ashcan School artist Morton Livingston Schamberg. It dates from 1912 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work is classified as a painting within the landscape genre and is held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.
Executed in oil on composition board, Landscape is a small-format painting measuring 19.05 by 24.13 cm. The choice of composition board rather than canvas or panel is consistent with early twentieth-century American practice, offering a smooth, rigid support suited to relatively thin paint application. The work is classified as a painting within the landscape genre and is held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having entered institutional custody through the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
No source materials describe the specific brushwork, palette, surface handling, layering technique, or present conservation condition of the work, so further formal and stylistic characterization cannot be grounded in the provided documentation.
History & Provenance
The painting was created in 1912 by Morton Livingston Schamberg as an oil on composition board. It entered the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, as a gift on 11 June 1962 from Joan B. Detweiler (Mrs. F.H. Detweiler), who had acquired it through Edith Gregor Halpert of the Downtown Gallery, New York. The work remained in the Corcoran’s holdings until 2014, when it was transferred to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Dimensions recorded at accession are 19.05 cm in height and 24.13 cm in width.
The work is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. It entered the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1962 as a gift from Joan B. Detweiler and was transferred to the National Gallery of Art in 2014.
Its Corcoran accession number is 1962.12.1.
Overview
Morton Livingston Schamberg, an American modernist artist, created Landscape around 1912. This painting, executed in oil on composition board, presents a natural scene. Schamberg, recognized for his contributions to both painting and photography, was a significant figure in early 20th-century American art, known for his evolving engagement with contemporary artistic movements and subjects.
Subject & Meaning
The painting centers on a prominent tree, its thick trunk and branches adorned with yellow-green foliage, dominating the composition. Surrounding greenery fills the foreground, while a house is visible on the left side of the canvas. Above, a blue sky with scattered white clouds completes the natural setting, offering a traditional subject interpreted through a modernist lens.
Context
Schamberg's artistic trajectory included an association with the Ash Can School, where he explored urban and industrial themes. While Landscape depicts a pastoral subject, its stylistic execution reflects his broader engagement with modernist principles. His later work notably embraced Cubist techniques, indicating a continuous exploration of contemporary artistic innovations throughout his career.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Morton Livingston Schamberg (October 15, 1881 – October 13, 1918) was an American modernist painter and photographer.
