Along the Brandywine

Mid-19th-century landscape painting reflects the theme of nature’s power and grandeur. This was conveyed through artists’ construction of compositions featuring strong contrasts between near and distant views, with low horizon lines to emphasize immense, luminous skies and human figures kept small in scale. However, by the latter part of the century, artists such as James Brade Sword began to relegate the larger landscape to the background in order take a more focused look at the character of a specific place. Sword’s painting thus places more importance on the activity of the people along this well-traveled, scenic road.

James Brade Sword lived in Philadelphia and was active with the Art Club of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Society of Artists and the Artist’s Fund Society of Philadelphia. Like many artists in the city, he sojourned to the surrounding countryside to capture its idyllic beauty.