George Inness

For other people named George Inness, see George Inness (disambiguation).

George Inness
George Inness, 1890
Born(1825-05-01)May 1, 1825
Newburgh, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 3, 1894(1894-08-03) (aged 69)
Bridge of Allan, Scotland
EducationBarbizon school of France
Known forLandscape art, Painting
MovementHudson River School

George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was an American landscape painter.

Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced by the Hudson River School at the start of his career. He also studied the Old Masters, and artists of the Barbizon school during later trips to Europe. There he was introduced to the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg, which was significant for him; he expressed that spiritualism in the works of his maturity (1879–1894).

Although Inness's style evolved through distinct stages over a prolific career that spanned more than forty years and 1,000 paintings, his works consistently earned acclaim for their powerful, coordinated efforts to elicit depth of mood, atmosphere, and emotion. Neither pure realist nor impressionist, Inness was a transitional figure. He worked to combine both the earthly and the ethereal in order to capture the complete essence of a locale in his works. A master of light, color, and shadow, he became noted for creating highly ordered and complex scenes that often juxtaposed hazy or blurred elements with sharp and refined details to evoke an interweaving of both the physical and the spiritual nature of experience. In Inness's words, he attempted through his art to demonstrate the "reality of the unseen"[1] and to connect the "visible upon the invisible."[2]

George Inness, Home at Montclair, 1892, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

Within his lifetime, art critics hailed Inness as one of America's greatest artists.[3] Often called "the father of American landscape painting,"[4][5] Inness is best known for his mature works that not only exemplified the Tonalist movement but also displayed an original and uniquely American style.

  1. ^ Bell, Adrienne Baxter (2006). George Inness: Writings and Reflections on Art and Philosophy. New York: George Braziller. p. 79.
  2. ^ "George Inness – Lines and Colors". December 20, 2006.
  3. ^ Bell, Adrienne Baxter (2006). George Inness: Writings and Reflections on Art and Philosophy. New York: George Braziller. pp. 7–10.
  4. ^ "George Inness: Private Treasures". Montclair Art Museum. Archived from the original on April 16, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  5. ^ "MAM and Adult School of Montclair – George Inness After Hours Tour". The Jersey Tomato Press. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2012.