Landscape—Scene from "Thanatopsis"

Asher Brown Durand

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Inspired by William Cullen Bryant’s poem "Thanatopsis" (Greek for "view of death"), this landscape was first exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1850. The inclusion of a funeral; a farmer engaged in daily work; and Egyptian, classical, and medieval ruins reflects the poem’s emphasis on the omnipresence of nature and the inevitability of death. After the exhibition, Durand’s painting was purchased by the American Art-Union and distributed to one of its subscribers. The organization often acquired contemporary landscapes, helping to popularize the genre with middle-class consumers who sought appealing and affordable works for display in their homes.

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