Artwork

Stony Clove, June 26, 1870; Landscape Composition (verso, from sketchbook)

Stony Clove, June 26, 1870; Landscape Composition (verso, from sketchbook) is a gouache drawing by the Impressionist artist Jervis McEntee. It dates from 1870 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

Jervis McEntee’s *Stony Clove, June 26, 1870* is a modestly sized drawing executed in graphite and white gouache on blue paper. The work records a brief encounter with a mountain stream in the Catskill region, rendered in a single sheet taken from the artist’s traveling sketchbook.

Subject & Meaning

The composition centers on a narrow watercourse winding through dark, rugged rocks, framed by tall trees whose trunks and foliage catch fleeting light. The scene conveys a momentary observation of nature’s quiet rhythms, emphasizing the interplay of shadow and illumination rather than a grand narrative.

Technique & Style

McEntee employed graphite for the underlying structure, then applied opaque white gouache to suggest highlights of sunlight on bark and water. The blue ground paper provides a cool undertone that intensifies the contrast, allowing the white pigment to appear luminous, a technique common among Hudson River School artists seeking atmospheric effects.

History & Provenance

Created during a summer expedition in the Catskills, the drawing remained within McEntee’s personal sketchbooks before entering the American Wing collection. Though the artist never achieved widespread fame, his meticulous journals and modest works contribute to the broader documentation of 19th‑century American landscape practice.