Landscape

George Inness prints bring the soft light and quiet poetry of nineteenth-century American landscapes into your home: golden meadows at evening, autumn oaks, misty mornings and moonlit pines. Inness is often called "the father of American landscape painting", and his late, dreamy works are the high point of American Tonalism. Our collection of fine art prints includes his Hudson Valley, Montclair, Italian and Florida landscapes.

About George Inness

George Inness was born on 1 May 1825 near Newburgh, New York, the fifth of thirteen children of a farmer. The family moved to Newark, New Jersey, when he was about five. As a teenager he worked as a map engraver in New York, studied with the French landscape painter Régis Gignoux, attended classes at the National Academy of Design, and studied the Hudson River painters Thomas Cole and Asher Durand. He first showed at the Academy in 1844.

In 1851 a patron sponsored his first trip to Europe. He spent fifteen months in Rome studying Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, and in France discovered the Barbizon painters, becoming the leading American exponent of their style. In Rome he was introduced to the ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg, which shaped his spiritual view of nature. In the mid-1850s the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad commissioned The Lackawanna Valley.

In his last fifteen years, living mainly in Montclair, New Jersey, and wintering in Tarpon Springs, Florida, he painted his most personal, mystical works. Critics hailed him as one of America's greatest artists. He died in August 1894 while travelling in Scotland.

Style and Subjects

Inness's early landscapes follow the detailed style of the Hudson River School. After his time in Europe his work became broader and warmer, close to the Barbizon painters, with rich colour and a strong sense of mood.

His late paintings are soft and dreamlike: hazy forms and glowing light mixed with a few crisp details, so that meadows, trees and figures seem to dissolve into atmosphere. He sought to capture the spiritual essence of a place rather than its exact appearance.

Famous Works

• The Lackawanna Valley (about 1855). A train steaming through a valley, commissioned by the railroad.
• In the Roman Campagna (1858), New Britain Museum of American Art. The open countryside outside Rome.
• Lake Nemi (1872), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A sunlit Italian lake from his second stay in Italy.
• Evening at Medfield, Massachusetts (1875), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A calm New England evening with cattle and a glowing sky.
• Autumn Oaks (about 1876), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Oaks in warm autumn colour, one of his best-loved paintings.
• The Rainbow (1878). A rainbow arching over a stormy landscape.
• Spring Blossoms, Montclair, New Jersey (about 1889), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A blossoming orchard near his home, in his late, soft style.

Decorating with Inness Prints

Inness's landscapes bring calm and warmth to living rooms, bedrooms and studies. Their golden light and soft greens suit traditional and farmhouse interiors with wood, linen and leather, and a large autumn or evening scene makes a peaceful focal point above a sofa or fireplace.

His late, dreamy works, such as Moonlight, Tarpon Springs, suit bedrooms and reading corners, and his Italian views bring a gentle travel note to a hallway.

FAQ

Why is George Inness called the father of American landscape painting?

Critics in his lifetime hailed him as one of America's greatest artists, and his original style of landscape influenced generations of American painters.

What art movement was George Inness part of?

He began in the Hudson River School tradition, absorbed the Barbizon style in France, and his late works are central to American Tonalism.

What influenced Inness's later style?

The spiritual ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg, which he encountered in Rome, deeply shaped his late, mystical landscapes.

What is The Lackawanna Valley?

It is a painting of about 1855 commissioned by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, showing the railroad's first roundhouse at Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Where can I see Inness's paintings?

Works are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the New Britain Museum of American Art and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

Related Artists

• Thomas Cole: Hudson River School founder whose work he studied
• Théodore Rousseau: Barbizon painter whose style he absorbed
• Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot: French landscape painter of the Barbizon circle
• Thomas Moran: American landscape painter of the same era