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Russell Smith
(American, 1812 - 1896)
Pennsylvania Farm
1861
14 3/8 × 20 1/2 in. (36.5 × 52.1 cm)
84.7
Purchased with Museum funds, 1984
Not on view
A native of Scotland, William Thompson Russell Smith immigrated to Pittsburgh with his family in 1819. He had a successful career as a portraitist, curator, illustrator, sign painter, and theatrical set designer. This highly versatile artist painted panoramic landscapes, but a trip to Europe in 1851 introduced him to the work of French landscape painter Claude Lorraine and kindled a new passion. The influence of Claude’s sweeping landscapes that dwarfed their human inhabitants is evident in Pennsylvania Farm. Smith’s interest in landscape painting grew as he followed the Hudson River School in the United States.