| Asher B. Durand (1796-1886) | ||
| International
Art Treasures
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It was not until near the end of Thomas Cole's career that he met another artist with similar ideas. Asher B. Durand's father was an "impractical watchmaker turned universal mechanic." His brother was an inventor. But the family made its living by farming. Asher was too frail for much of the work, so he spent a great deal of time wondering through the pastures and woods. He was apprenticed to an engraver and became so talented that by age 24 he was selected to reproduce Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence. An engraver had to be able to represent a large, full color original by making a backward image on a small plate which was then printed in black and white. And the resulting reproduction could be no better or worse than original. To make it look better would be an insult to the original artist; to make it look worse would be an insult to the original work of art. President Andrew Jackson closed the Bank of the United States, resulting in a large number of local banks. Each printed its own money and needed at least one engraver. (Many went on to become famous painters.) Cyrus Durand invented a mechanical lathe to rule counterfeit-proof lines, and Asher developed the decorative patterns which still exist on bank notes and stock certificates. When Asher turned to painting he found a patron named Luman Reed. But Reed died only two years later. At the funeral, however, Durand met another artist who had been supported by Reed - Thomas Cole. The two painted together, although their approaches were very different. Durand made detailed oil sketches in the field; Cole relied heavily on his memory. Durand made two major
contributions to the Hudson River school:  |
