A Waterfall, Moonlight

Ralph Albert Blakelock

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This painting was shown at the National Academy of Design exhibition in 1886 and is a fine example of Blakelock's mature painting style. Although it features elements that are typical of the artist's style--generalized and silhouetted forms, glowing moonlight, and thick paint--it is particularly strong and subtle in comparison. The foliage that frames the edge of the canvas echoes the irregular contours of the tree so much that the forms seem almost able to interlock. The brushwork is varied with pigment loosely appled to create a richly colored surface, especially in the boundary between the light sky and the dark leaves.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art