Artist: George Henry Durrie Place/date of birth: Hartford, Connecticut 1820 Place/date of death: New Haven, Connecticut 1863 Title: Winter in the Country Date of completion: 1857 Materials: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 18 x 24 inches Signed and dated lower left: G.H. Durrie/1857 Collection: Museum Purchase, Roscoe and Margaret Oakes Income Fund Accession number: 1985.47 Introduction When George Durrie painted Winter in the County in 1857, the northern states were in the process of developing an industrial economy, and northerners began to witness the decline of small farming. One response to these changes was nostalgia for a "lost America." Paintings such as Winter in the Country represent a longing for the simple, peaceful country way of life. Discussion During the nineteenth century, prints of images such as Winter in the Country were widely disseminated to a national audience. Because thousands of prints could be made from a single plate, they were available at a modest price. With the development of chromo litho-graphy, prints no longer had to be colored by hand. Currier and Ives, the famous print-publisher, used many of Durrie's designs. Today Durrie' s scenes are still familiar to us as Christmas cards, Currier and Ives reproductions, holiday advertising, and movie images of country holidays. While there were places like this particular image in the northeastern United States in 1857 -- country inns where everyone arrived by sled or horseback (note the neatly parked sleighs in the barn) -- it is not likely that many of the people who owned Durrie's paintings and prints visited a place like this regularly. Looking Closely Durrie's nostalgic vision extended not just to the place depicted, but to a suggestion of the kind of warm interactions that took place there. The two men on the porch greet each other jovially, suggesting a friendly ambiance within the inn; the playful dogs and the smiling couple dashing through the snow in a one-horse-open-sleigh add to the merry atmosphere. Even the chickens and cows look peaceful and comfortable beneath the tempest winter sky. Style This image was not intended to show a specific place. Rather, the artist tried to evoke the feeling of a chilly winter day in the countryside by illustrating the activity around an inn. Durrie was able to give a sense of the frigid temperature by using only light pastel colors throughout the composition -- as if everything were diluted by the whiteness of the snow. Durrie included many small details that invite the viewer to travel around the scene visually. Artist For most of his career, George Henry Durrie's reputation as an artist was limited to the region around his home town of New Haven, Connecticut. However from 1861-1867, the New York lithography firm of Currier and Ives reproduced ten of his country scenes for mass distribution. This wide exposure popularized Durrie's nostalgic vision of country life. Durrie specialized in winter scenes, which included happy people populating idealized farms and inns during the snowy months. Additional Reading A.K. Baragwanath. 100 Currier and Ives Favorites. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1978. Links to American History Curriculum
SLIDE 13
WINTER IN THE COUNTRY
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