The First Harvest in the Wilderness

Asher B. Durand

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Object Label

Although not a scene of the American West, this painting can be interpreted within the context of the artistic perpetuation of the notion of Manifest Destiny. Here the American wilderness yields to progress as a lone farmer reaps his first harvest in a field, still dotted with the stumps of recently cleared trees. A boulder resting by the side of the road identifies him by name as “Graham.”

Using funds bequeathed by one of its founders, Augustus Graham, the Brooklyn Museum commissioned Asher B. Durand to paint this work in 1855, thus officially establishing its collection of American art. Durand’s dramatic landscape pays tribute to Graham’s efforts as a cultural pioneer.

Caption

Asher B. Durand American, 1796–1886. The First Harvest in the Wilderness, 1855. Oil on canvas, 31 5/8 × 48 1/16 in. (80.3 × 122 cm) frame: 43 3/4 × 59 1/4 × 4 1/4 in. (111.1 × 150.5 × 10.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Transferred from the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences to the Brooklyn Museum, 97.12. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 97.12_cropped_PS22.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

American Art

Title

The First Harvest in the Wilderness

Date

1855

Medium

Oil on canvas

Classification

Painting

Dimensions

31 5/8 × 48 1/16 in. (80.3 × 122 cm) frame: 43 3/4 × 59 1/4 × 4 1/4 in. (111.1 × 150.5 × 10.8 cm)

Signatures

Signed lower center: "A B Durand, pt. / 1855"

Inscriptions

Inscribed on boulder, lower right: "Graham"

Credit Line

Transferred from the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences to the Brooklyn Museum

Accession Number

97.12

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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