Artifact World Gallery
Get the iOS app

Shadows, Spuyten Duyvil Hill by Ernest Lawson

Ernest Lawson · 1910-01-01

Ernest Lawson's *Shadows, Spuyten Duyvil Hill*, oil on canvas, circa 1910, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This landscape depicts a serene vista, capturing human presence within nature.

Look at the hazy cityscape on the distant ridge, the lone, windswept tree in the middle ground, and the small boat on the water. Notice the bold brushstrokes in the foreground grass and the dramatic, fluffy clouds overhead.

Lawson, a Canadian-American painter, was a member of "The Eight," a group who protested the conservative National Academy of Design. This painting, made in 1910, shows his style influenced by Impressionists like Alfred Sisley.

It invites contemplation of the natural world and our place within it.

Details

A distant cityscape sits on the ridge.
A distant cityscape sits on the ridge.
A solitary tree has weathered the years.
A solitary tree has weathered the years.
His brushstrokes give texture to the earth.
His brushstrokes give texture to the earth.
Transcript

This is a landscape of Spuyten Duyvil Hill. A distant cityscape sits on the ridge. A solitary tree has weathered the years. The boat on the water hints at human life. Ernest Lawson painted this in 1910. He was part of The Eight artists' protest. His brushstrokes give texture to the earth. Clouds capture the fleeting light and weather.