DURAND, Asher Brown, American painter and engraver: b. South Orange, N. J., 21 Aug_ 1796; d. there, 17 Sept. 1886. He was appren ticed to the engraver Maverick, of whom he was afterward partner. For a long time his employment consisted in copying prints from English books and working on plates for bank notes. His engraving of Trumbull's 'Declara tion of Independence' brought him into general notice, and thenceforth for many years his graver was in constant demand for portraits of various dimensions and figure pieces. He had always, however, entertained the idea of ulti mately becoming a painter and in 1835, having for the previous ID years been a regular con tributor of portraits, small figure pieces or land scapes in oil to the exhibitions of the National Academy of Design, finally abandoned engrav ing as a profession. He devoted himself there after mainly to landscape painting, in which department of art he became eminent. His
subjects included General Jackson, Henry Clay and heads of all the presidents, from nature or copied. With Thomas Cole he founded the American landscape school. His landscapes are large sketches painted directly from nature, His composition was imperfect but his work is interesting in detail. The Corcoran Art Gal lery at Washington contains his 'Mountain Forest' (1859), and the Metropolitan Museum, New York, contains four of his works, includ ing 'In the Woods,' one of his best landscapes. The New York Public Library has another fine example. He was one of the original members and president of the National Academy of Design. Consult the biography by John Du rand (New York 1894) and Isham 'History of American Painting' (ib. 1907).