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Student Artwork Guide

On the River

Name Class Date

Thomas Doughty, On the River. Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Thomas Doughty artsdot.com/en/artists/thomas-doughty/
Artist’s dates
1793 – 1856

In context

On the River — Thomas Doughty

When might this have been painted?

  1. 1790
  2. 1800
  3. 1810
  4. 1820
  5. 1830
  6. 1840
  7. 1850

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 63 at death.

Shaded: the lifetime of Thomas Doughty (1793–1856) every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1832 Main working years: 1832–1838 Late works: from 1838

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: artsdot.com/en/art/similar/thomas-doughty-on-the-river-8CEGZP-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Espresso #392610

    Catalogued palette

    • #392610
    • #875C2A
    • #EBE4D0
    • #CBB99B

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Neutrals The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Espresso
    Intensity
    Balanced How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Statement How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Unified Palette How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Balanced How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Balanced Soft How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Thomas Doughty over the last twelve months — 5 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 71.4%
    2. 2 United States of America 14.3%
    3. 3 Brazil 4.8%
    4. 4 Hong Kong 4.8%
    5. 5 Singapore 4.8%

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 18 most looked-at works by Thomas Doughty

    1. 1 View in Maine 15.4%
    2. 2 Fishing in a River, 1828 11.5%
    3. 3 Boating on the Lake, Peekskill, NY 7.7%
    4. 4 Huntsman 7.7%
    5. 5 View on the Susquehanna near Harrisburg 7.7%
    6. 6 Landscape with Two Figures, 1855 3.8%
    7. 7 Autumn Landscape 3.8%
    8. 8 River View with Hunters and Dogs 3.8%
    9. 9 White Mountains, New Hampshire 3.8%
    10. 10 Maine Seacoast 3.8%
    11. 11 On the River this painting 3.8%
    12. 12 A River Glimpse 3.8%
    13. 13 Scene Along the Hudson 3.8%
    14. 14 The Battlefield of Brandywine 1 3.8%
    15. 15 Harper's Ferry, Virginia 1 3.8%
    16. 16 Palisades Neaar Fort Lee 3.8%
    17. 17 Along the lake shore 3.8%
    18. 18 Ben Lomond 3.8%

    Together these works take 99.4% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 79 works by this artist, of which 18 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 11 of them, with 3.8% of that attention. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Thomas Doughty

    Born in Philadelphia, United States of America

    early life and career

    thomas doughty, an american artist, was born on july 19, 1793, in philadelphia. he is renowned for being the first american artist to work exclusively as a landscapist, paving the way for the hudson river school art movement.

    artistic style and notable works

    doughty's quiet, often atmospheric landscapes of the rivers and mountains of pennsylvania, new york, new england, and especially the hudson river valley, are characteristic of his style. some notable works include:

    view toward the hudson river (1839), princeton university art museum

    ruins in a landscape (1828)

    in the catskills (1836), reynolda house museum of american art

    landscape after ruisdael (ca. 1846), brooklyn museum

    view of the fairmount waterworks, philadelphia, from the opposite side of the schuylkill river (1824/26), museum of fine arts, houston

    legacy and influence

    doughty's work had a profound impact on american art, inspiring a generation of artists to explore and depict the natural beauty of their country. his legacy can be seen in the works of countless artists who followed in his footsteps. key facts:

    born: july 19, 1793, philadelphia

    died: july 22, 1856, new york

    nationality: american

    occupation: artist, landscapist

    view thomas doughty's artworks on AllPaintingsStore.com

    Where to read more

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for On the River

    artsdot.com/en/art/download/thomas-doughty-on-the-river-8CEGZP-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Doughty, Thomas. On the River. n.d., https://artsdot.com/en/art/thomas-doughty-on-the-river-8CEGZP-en/
    APA
    Doughty, Thomas (n.d.). On the River [Painting]. https://artsdot.com/en/art/thomas-doughty-on-the-river-8CEGZP-en/
    Chicago
    Thomas Doughty. On the River. n.d. https://artsdot.com/en/art/thomas-doughty-on-the-river-8CEGZP-en/
    Harvard
    Doughty, Thomas (n.d.) On the River. Available at: https://artsdot.com/en/art/thomas-doughty-on-the-river-8CEGZP-en/

    Look closely

    On the River — Thomas Doughty

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. Our catalogue files this work under: rivers. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    4. Look back at In Natures Wonderland (1835), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. What might the artist have wanted you to feel?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Questions & Answers

    How can I get a print of "On the River" by Thomas Doughty?

    To get a print of "On the River" by Thomas Doughty, simply order it on its Fine Art Print page: a fine art print on cotton canvas or archival canvas paper.

    Why is the copyright status of "On the River" what it is?

    "On the River" by Thomas Doughty is in the public domain - its copyright has expired. Copyright terms are measured from the artist's death, and Thomas Doughty died in 1856.

    Does "On the River" have an augmented reality preview?

    "On the River" has an augmented reality preview: the artwork's AR Preview page shows it in your own space on a compatible device.