biography of George H. DURRIE (1820-1863)

Birth place: Hartford, CT

Death place: New Haven, CT

Addresses: Primarily in New Haven, CT, with professional trips to New Jersey, New York, and Virginia

Profession: Landscape, genre, and portrait painter

Studied: Nathaniel Jocelyn, 1839

Exhibited: PAFA, 1862; NAD, 1862-63

Work: Shelburne (VT) Mus.; NYHS; Wadsworth Athenaeum; Yale Univ. AG

Comments: Best known for his wintry rural scenes. He began his career painting portraits around New Haven and Bethany, CT, and from 1840-42 traveled between Connecticut and New Jersey. Durrie turned to landscape painting in the mid 1840s. His winter landscapes became popularized at the end of his life through Currier & Ives" distribution of hand-colored lithographs of his images in the 1860s. Durrie's work continued to be adapted by Currier & Ives after his death, ensuring his legacy.

Sources: G&W; Cowdrey, George H. Durrie," in Catalogue of the Durrie Exhibition, Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, 1947; Cowdrey, NAD; French; Swan, BA; New Haven CD 1843-60; 7 Census (1850), Conn., VIII, 535; Durrie, "George H. Durrie, Artist"; Peters, "George Henry Durrie, 1820-1863"; Karolik Cat.; Muller, Paintings and Drawings at the Shelburne Museum, 60-61 (w/repros.); 300 Years of American Art, vol. 1, 188; Baigell, Dictionary