The Camp Meeting

Worthington Whittredge

1874 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

Originating in Kentucky in 1799, camp meetings were outdoor social and religious gatherings popular among evangelical Christians in rural areas. When painted by Whittredge in 1874, such services were increasingly rare. Although filled with figures—including a preacher delivering a sermon from a constructed stage—the artist’s primary focus is on the landscape. Most likely depicting a scene in the Catskill Mountains, Whittredge carefully rendered the surface reflections of the foreground pond while skillfully contrasting a sun-soaked landscape at right with areas of shade at left.

Artist

Worthington Whittredge

Date

1874

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Amelia B. Lazarus Fund, 1913