Avon (New Jersey)

William Mason Brown began his career as a portraitist in Troy, New York, before moving to Newark, New Jersey, and spending much of the 1850s painting landscapes in the style of the Hudson River School. His characteristic style includes foregrounds with carefully studied trees, plants, and rocks receding to distant panoramic mountain ranges. Here, the presence of grazing sheep in Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey, indicates that its woods and meadow are near a rural settlement, and not a remote wilderness. In 1858, Brown relocated to Brooklyn and became very involved in the art community there. He also shifted his focus of subject matter to highly detailed still lifes.

Photo: John Maggiotto