Hudson River Scene

Hudson River Scene

John Frederick Kensett

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

At West Point, New York, the Hudson River flows between picturesque mountains, to both the east and the west. The region was a favorite of many of the Hudson River School artists, including Kensett, who painted numerous views of the site seen here. His vantage point was a spot near Fort Putnam, a corner of which can be glimpsed at the far right, looking north toward the bend in the river. The disparate levels of terrain permitted great variety in the depiction of light and shadow: for example, the dark foliage of the trees in the deep ravine provides a strong contrast to the sunlit rocky space in the immediate foreground, at the base of the fort. Read a Native Perspective on this work.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.