The Boulder and the Flume

Ralph Albert Blakelock

1878 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

This picture, probably painted in 1878, shows a renowned spot in the White Mountains of New Hampshire at Franconia Notch. Blakelock had visited the site on his honeymoon voyage. The romantic excitement of the deep cleft in the rocks and the threatening boulder so precariously lodged above the icy stream has been presented, paradoxically, with great directness and objectivity. The entire painted surface is made interesting with strong contrast of light and dark and by the alternation of smooth and roughened textures that is a characteristic technique of Blakelock's.

Artist

Ralph Albert Blakelock

Date

1878

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh J. Grant, 1974