The Forest of Arden

Albert Pinkham Ryder

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Beginning in the 1880s Ryder often turned to literary themes as subjects for his paintings. Here Ryder uses a scene from Shakespeare's comedy, "As You Like It," as a point of departure for the depiction of landscape. The figures are relegated to an unassuming position in the lower left corner of the canvas. They have usually been identified as Rosalind (disguised in male costume) and Celia, who have escaped from the court of Duke Frederick into the Forest of Arden. However, they may well represent one of several other pairs of lovers from the play. Ryder studied the local landscape of Bronx Park for this painting, simplifying and interpreting forms to create a personal vision of nature.

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