Two Figures in a Rowboat on Lake, a Fine Hudson River Landscape (Circa 1880)

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This fine oil on canvas painting exhibits the classic composition of the Hudson River School with the specific stylistic markers … Read more This fine oil on canvas painting exhibits the classic composition of the Hudson River School with the specific stylistic markers of its later period. The large, dark trees on the left serve as a framing device (known as a repoussoir or coulisse) that creates depth and pushes the viewer's eye into the center of the canvas where two figures prepare to launch a rowboat. The figures are dwarfed by the landscape, which signals the grandeur of nature relative to humans. The background mountains fade into a hazy, purple-gray mist, creating a sense of vast space and a quiet mood. The sky features a soft, diffused light—likely dusk or dawn—transitioning from cool blues to warm creams and pinks. This focus on the effects of light (rather than just the objects lit by it) is a hallmark of the Luminist trend within American landscape painting.

This painting is unsigned and we list it as "Anonymous" although stylistically it suggests a work by Robert S. Duncanson, a significant African-American landscape artist, although other American artists painted in this manner in the 1870s and 1880s.

The artwork measures 16 inches by 12 inches unframed and 27 1/2" by 17 1/2" in its finely carved wood period-style frame, ready to hang. See less