Chestnut and Pine

Primarily self-taught, Johnson’s only formal training was a few lessons with Jasper F. Cropsey (also in this gallery). Johnson was, however, a devoted student of nature. As was typical of artists of the Hudson River school, he constructed his paintings in the studio with the aid of detailed drawings he had made directly from nature. Probably drawn in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, this sheet pairs two distinct species of tree--a pine and a chestnut--in a harmonious composition.