Trees in a Field

late 19th century

Walter Shirlaw

Associated Names
Walter Shirlaw

Artist, American, 1838 - 1909

The image shows a sketch of a natural landscape viewed from eye level. The horizon is high in the composition, with trees stretching across the width of the image. The trees and shrubs extend into the distance, creating a sense of a continuous landscape. The brushstrokes are loose and sketchy, typical of a quick rendering with soft graphite or charcoal. The color palette is monochromatic, using shades of gray on sepia-toned paper. Near the viewer, there is a patch of ground with rough, textural marks indicating grass and a shallow ditch, leading the eye into the landscape where the trees stand at the center.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    graphite on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Corcoran Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 25.56 × 44.29 cm (10 1/16 × 17 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.19.3545


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

the artist, New York; Mrs. Walter Shirlaw, New York, 1909; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1975

  • In Praise of Space, Westminster College Art Gallery, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania; Parsons School of Design, New York, 1975-1976

Bibliography

1983

  • Simmons, Linda Crocker and with the assistance of Adrianne J. Humphrey, et al. American Drawings, Watercolors, Pastels, and Collages in the Collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1983: p. 86, no. 540.

Inscriptions

lower right in graphite: W Shirlaw

Wikidata ID

Q64634324

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