Wood Interior with Rocks–a Study

Provenance

Estate of the artist
Harry Shaw Newman Gallery, New York, New York, by descent from above, 1948
Alexander Gallery, New York, New York
Michael N. Altman & Co., New York, New York
Sale, Stair Galleries, Hudson, New York, June 25, 2026, lot 45
Private collection, New York, New York, acquired from above, 2026

Exhibited

Harry Shaw Newman Gallery, New York, New York, The Hudson River School, April 1948.

Literature

Harry Shaw Newman Gallery, Panorama 3, no. 8 (April 1948): 92.
Frick Art Reference Library Photoarchive (as Wood Interior with Rocks).

Related Works

Bash-Bish Falls, Massachusetts, 1855, oil on canvas, 29⅞ x 24⅛ inches, monogrammed and dated lower right: JF.K. 1855; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
Study of Beeches, 1872, oil on canvas, 14¾ x 10⅜ inches; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York

Note

Prior to his studies in painting, John Frederick Kensett trained and worked as an engraver. In Wood Interior with Rocks–a Study, Kensett draws upon his engraving techniques, articulating this woodland interior with minute detail and rendering various textures of the cut rock surfaces, fallen tree limbs, and leafy brush. Through the animated brushwork and close viewpoint, the viewer is able to sense Kensett’s excitement toward nature and experience the vitality of the wilderness.