John Frederick Kensett
(American, 1816-1872)
Tree Study, Franconia Notch,1850
Graphite on buff paper
13 1/2 x 9 7/8 inches
Gift of Michael St. Clair. Collection of the Palmer Museum of Art.

American Pastorale: Drawings by John F. Kensett
September 18-December 21, 2001
American Works on Paper Gallery

John Frederick Kensett (1816-1872) was one of the leading figures of the Hudson River School, a group of artists who celebrated the nineteenth-century American landscape. Kensett compiled hundreds of pencil sketches while touring the North American continent during the warmer months of the year. These drawings then served as source material for the paintings he created during the winter in his studio. A select number of Kensett's costumed figure studies, rendered in pencil and watercolor, will complement the exhibitÕs display of his better-known American landscape sketches. Kensett produced numerous figurative studies during his years spent overseas, as study of the human form was an intrinsic element of the European artistic tradition.

Many of the works for the exhibition are selected from the portfolio of Kensett drawings the Palmer Museum of Art received as a gift from Michael St. Clair in 1998. Additional drawings are being lent by a private collector.

John Frederick Kensett
(American, 1816-1872)
Seated Man,c. 1845-47
Watercolor and graphite on paper 10 1/2 x 8 5/8 inches
Gift of Michael St. Clair. Collection of the Palmer Museum of Art.

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