Spanish Peaks, Southern Colorado, Late Afternoon

Samuel Colman

1887 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

Several dated works by Colman, a New Yorker, suggest that he made his first visit to the frontier in 1870, additional trips in 1871, 1886, and 1888, and a later journey sometime between 1895 and 1905. Unlike his earlier, more documentary accounts of pioneers and wagon trains, this canvas reflects the stylistic influence on Colman of the French Barbizon painters, who preferred to evoke mood with generalized forms and subtle color and tones. In a letter, Colman noted having juxtaposed here “masses of limestone rocks . . . which appear like the towers of a castle or fortress” in the middle distance with the Spanish Peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains beyond.

Artist

Samuel Colman

Date

1887

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of H. O. Havemeyer, 1893