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A Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove)

1862
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 761
A Gorge in the Mountains is the first major work in a series of vertical compositions of Kauterskill Clove, in the eastern Catskill Mountains, that Gifford executed up until his death in 1880. Before him, Thomas Cole and other artists had emphasized the sublime, or fearsome, aspect of the storied locale. In Gifford’s painting, a hunter and a dog climb the rocks at left, overlooking a ravine dominated by gauzy atmosphere and dazzling light—an effect reminiscent of the work of the influential English artist J. M. W. Turner.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove)
  • Artist: Sanford Robinson Gifford (Greenfield, New York 1823–1880 New York, New York)
  • Date: 1862
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 48 x 39 7/8 in. (121.9 x 101.3 cm)
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Maria DeWitt Jesup, from the collection of her husband, Morris K. Jesup, 1914
  • Object Number: 15.30.62
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

Audio

Cover Image for 4358. American Art: A Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove)

4358. American Art: A Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove)

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