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Twilight on the Sound, Darien, Connecticut

1872
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 761
In the summer of 1872, when Kensett painted exclusively from and around the island he owned in Long Island Sound, he explored the dramatic spectacles of sunrises, sunsets, dawns, and twilights more liberally than he had previously. In studies such as this, he focused on the uninflected contours of the water and coastal topography, rendering the various tones and tints of the crimson sky and its reflection in the water. Dark islands and a boat in the foreground make distinctive silhouettes, enhancing the mood and drama of the early evening setting.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Twilight on the Sound, Darien, Connecticut
  • Artist: John Frederick Kensett (American, Cheshire, Connecticut 1816–1872 New York)
  • Date: 1872
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 11 1/2 x 24 1/2 in. (29.2 x 62.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Thomas Kensett, 1874
  • Object Number: 74.24
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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[Photographs of paintings by J. F. Kensett]
John Frederick Kensett
1874 (?)
Lake George, 1872, John Frederick Kensett American, Oil on canvas, American
Lake George, 1872
John Frederick Kensett
1872
Seated female figures, train in left background, ship in right background (bank note design)
John Frederick Kensett
ca. 1835–72
Bank Note Element: A Woman in Classical Robes Embracing a Large Broken Stone Letter "I", with a Distant Sailing Ship to the Left and a Factory to the Right
John Frederick Kensett
1835–72
Bank Note Element: Three Cupids with Tendrils
John Frederick Kensett
1835–72

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