{"product_id":"miller-alfred-jacob-1857-1926-rocky-formations-near-the-nebraska-or-platte-river","title":"MILLER, Alfred Jacob (1857-1926) Rocky Formations near the Nebraska or Platte River","description":"\u003cp\u003eMILLER, Alfred Jacob (1857-1926)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eRocky Formations near the Nebraska or Platte River\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTitled\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e(upper right); inscribed (upper left)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eProperty from the Collection of Ambassador J. William Middendorf II, Rhode Island\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGouache, watercolor, pencil and ink on paper\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e7 ½ by 11 ⅞ in.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"209\" data-end=\"732\"\u003eThis scene, given its imprecise description as taking place near the Nebraska or Platte River, was likely created by memory years after his momentous journey west in 1837. Though Miller was known for taking direct inspiration from his travels, his depiction of the five Native Americans in this composition, galloping across the plain and dwarfed by the enormity of their surroundings, evidences the more Romantic lens through which he viewed the West, and particularly his view of native people’s connection with nature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"734\" data-end=\"1309\"\u003eIndebted to the 18th-century English tradition of the picturesque landscape, Miller carefully arranges the composition around two mountainous landforms cast in contrasting light and shadow. Having had ample opportunity to observe Joseph Mallord William Turner’s work during the height of his popularity with midcentury American artists, Miller also took direct inspiration from the English landscape painter’s evocative depictions of the sublimity of nature’s spirit. Such influence is particularly evident in the present work with Miller’s atmospheric handling of the sky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1311\" data-end=\"1930\"\u003eMargaret C. Conrads writes in the exhibition catalogue for \u003cem data-start=\"1370\" data-end=\"1445\"\u003eRomancing the West: Alfred Jacob Miller in the Bank of America Collection\u003c\/em\u003e (2010–2011): “Emphasizing the solidity of the formations and juxtaposing them against an open sky and a high mountain backdrop, Miller endowed the scene inspired by the landscape near Laramie with his initial wonder at their endurance beyond anything in human history” (Exh. Cat., Kansas City, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Philadelphia Museum of Art, \u003cem data-start=\"1834\" data-end=\"1909\"\u003eAlfred Jacob Miller: Romancing the West in the Bank of America Collection\u003c\/em\u003e, 2010–11, p. 124).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1932\" data-end=\"1944\"\u003eProvenance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul data-start=\"1945\" data-end=\"2463\"\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1945\" data-end=\"2030\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1947\" data-end=\"2030\"\u003eEugenia Miller Whyte or Louisa Whyte Norton (acquired by descent from the artist)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"2031\" data-end=\"2097\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2033\" data-end=\"2097\"\u003eThe Old Print Shop, New York (acquired from the above in 1947)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"2098\" data-end=\"2174\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2100\" data-end=\"2174\"\u003eThe Boatman’s National Bank, St. Louis (acquired from the above in 1947)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"2175\" data-end=\"2255\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2177\" data-end=\"2255\"\u003eNationsBank, Charlotte (acquired from the above by corporate merger in 1996)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"2256\" data-end=\"2340\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2258\" data-end=\"2340\"\u003eBank of America, Charlotte (acquired from the above by corporate merger in 1998)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"2341\" data-end=\"2411\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2343\" data-end=\"2411\"\u003eSotheby’s, New York, 22 May 2013, lot 101 (consigned by the above)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"2412\" data-end=\"2463\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2414\" data-end=\"2463\"\u003eAcquired at the above sale by the present owner\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2465\" data-end=\"2476\"\u003eExhibited\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul data-start=\"2477\" data-end=\"2772\"\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"2477\" data-end=\"2533\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2479\" data-end=\"2533\"\u003eSt. Louis, The Boatman’s National Bank, 1964, no. 48\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"2534\" data-end=\"2772\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2536\" data-end=\"2772\"\u003eKansas City, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Philadelphia Museum of Art, \u003cem data-start=\"2643\" data-end=\"2718\"\u003eAlfred Jacob Miller: Romancing the West in the Bank of America Collection\u003c\/em\u003e, 2010–11, no. 25, pp. 124–125, illustrated in color\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Arader Galleries","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45280352403500,"sku":null,"price":185000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1156\/7956\/files\/Miller_RockyFormationsneartheNebraskaorPlatteRiver.jpg?v=1771178290","url":"https:\/\/aradernyc.com\/products\/miller-alfred-jacob-1857-1926-rocky-formations-near-the-nebraska-or-platte-river","provider":"Arader Galleries","version":"1.0","type":"link"}