The Capture of Major Andre
Artist
Asher B. Durand
(American, 1796–1886)
Date1833
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionscanvas: 63.5 × 77.5 cm (25 × 30 1/2 in.)
framed: 80.6 × 93 cm (31 3/4 × 36 5/8 in.)
framed: 80.6 × 93 cm (31 3/4 × 36 5/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1933.161
Label TextBy the mid-1830s, Durand ended a career in engraving to paint genre and historical subjects, like this episode from the Revolutionary War: colonial militiamen decide the fate of captive British Major John André (pictured bootless), a co-conspirator of General Benedict Arnold to capture the patriot fort at West Point. To reconstruct this scene, Durand posed models in his studio and visited the site where the arrest took place. He also conferred with a descendant of John Paulding, one of the captors seen holding André’s papers. Although Durand created a later, more refined version for the American Art-Union in 1845, this work demonstrates his early attraction to landscape painting, which he soon embraced as a member of the Hudson River School.ProvenanceR.C. Vose, Boston MAOn View
On view
