DURAND, Asher Brown
(b. 1796, Springfield Township, d. 1886, Maplewood)

Kindred Spirits

1849
Oil on canvas, 117 x 92 cm
Private collection

Asher B Durand, who was a leading figure in the 'Hudson River School' of American landscapists, painted Kindred Spirits in memory of his fellow painter Thomas Cole (1801-1848). He painted Cole and the poet William Cullen Bryant standing on a rock over a ravine in the Catskills sharing a moment of communion with the visible world and its creator.

The painting was owned by the New York Public Library until May 2005 when it was sold at a Sotheby's auction for about $35 million to a private collector.