Learn about artist Durand and his Maplewood roots

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Durand family has been synonymous with Maplewood since before the township ever received its current name. Most residents probably have at least heard of the Durands, even if just while touring the Durand-Hedden House and Gardens on one of the countless class trips the farmhouse turned local museum has hosted. Yet many may not know that Asher B. Durand — who lived his whole life in Maplewood, which was formerly known as Jefferson Village — was one of the most notable artists of the 19th century.

But an upcoming lecture hopes to change that. Art historian and Durand expert Linda Ferber will lead “Asher B. Durand’s Life in Art: From Jefferson Village to Maplewood,” a look at the famous Maplewood painter’s life and career, at The Woodland, 60 Woodland Road in Maplewood, on April 3, at 2 p.m. Afterward, attendees are invited to visit the Durand-Hedden House to experience its collection of Durand’s work, which includes the only known portrait of his inventor brother Cyrus. The event is free, though donations are welcome.

And while art lovers are sure to find the event enthralling, Ferber stressed that one does not have to know much about painting to enjoy the lecture. The historian, who has served as the chief curator of the Brooklyn Museum and vice president of the New-York Historical Society, said Durand should be an interesting figure for anyone who lives in Maplewood, as he is the first local boy to make good artistically and historically. This lecture is a good place to start learning about a figure whose presence is still felt in town, she said.

“People probably live their lives without being aware of this legacy that is still embodied in the names of certain places,” Ferber told the News-Record in a March 25 phone interview, referring to Durand Road as an example. “I think they’ll enjoy learning about it.”

There is certainly a lot to learn about Durand, who was born when George Washington was president in 1796 and died a remarkable 90 years later. The man who would eventually become one of the most important painters of the 1800s actually started out as an engraver, gaining fame after John Trumbull commissioned him to engrave his iconic painting “The Declaration of Independence.” From there he co-founded what is now called the National Academy of Design before transitioning into painting, a skill Ferber said Durand taught himself in part by studying the works he was engraving. And though he at first specialized in portraiture in order to live on commissions, he made a name for himself as a landscape artist, serving a pivotal role in launching the Hudson River School movement.

Today, Durand’s best known work is probably his 1849 painting “Kindred Spirits,” which depicts fellow Hudson River School artist Thomas Cole and poet William Cullen Bryant in the Catskills. The piece hung in the New York Public Library from 1904 to 2005, when it was sold at auction to Walmart heiress Alice Walton for a purported $35 million. It is now on display at the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art in Arkansas.

Yet Ferber said Maplewood residents may be more interested in Durand’s 1839 landscape “Sunday Morning” — which shows families in a rural community walking to church — due to what she believes is a connection to the township.

“I’ve always felt that Durand is thinking about his own childhood, when Jefferson Village was indeed a tiny settlement,” Ferber said. “The picture is inscribed to his second wife, Mary, so he painted it for her and it never left the Durand family. It came from the Durand family to the New-York Historical Society, so it was clearly something of great value and meaning.

“I think it’s a memory of both a place and a time,” she continued. “And I think you can make an argument that it is grounded in Durand’s memories of his boyhood and youth.”

Ferber acquired such insight through years of researching Durand’s art while working at both the Brooklyn Museum and New-York Historical Society, which she said has the largest collection of his work. Her resulting exhibit, “Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape,” which opened at the Brooklyn Museum in 2007, reignited global interest in the Maplewood native and was followed by a hugely popular 2010 Durand exhibit in Madrid, Spain. As part of that renewed interest, new books on Durand’s work were published after those exhibits and a biography on the artist by his son was republished after being out of print for decades.

For Ferber, having the opportunity to bring Durand to the forefront of the art world’s consciousness has been a joy.

“It’s been great fun to be at the sort of center” of Durand’s recent resurgence, Ferber said. “We’ve managed to get him back into circulation in a much broader way than he had been available to the public before that time. So it’s been a great project. It’s very gratifying.”

To have a historian of Ferber’s caliber speak on behalf of the Durand-Hedden House is an honor, museum President Susan Newberry said. Knowing how busy Ferber is, Newberry said it is very gracious of her to come to Maplewood and teach its residents about one of the most significant figures in the township’s history.

Pointing out that it is always enriching to know about the past of one’s own community, Newberry added that she hopes residents will take advantage of the opportunity.

“Dr. Ferber is probably the acknowledged expert on Durand,” Newberry told the News-Record in a March 25 phone interview. “It’s a very rare opportunity to have an intimate talk with someone who has probably more knowledge of him over everybody.”

Ferber said she is pleased to make a return visit and explained that the Durand-Hedden House provided her with invaluable help during her research into Durand’s life, allowing her to get a sense of the environment in which the artist was raised although the suburban Maplewood of today is different from what he experienced. She also lauded Newberry and her staff for their efforts to preserve local history, which is something that Ferber maintains is vital to appreciate.

“In a world of global connections, I think it’s even more important to understand where you are and the history of where of you are,” Ferber said, pointing out that museums such as the Durand-Hedden House are essential sources of that kind of information. “I think it gives people a sense of wisdom. I think it gives people a sense of pride and a sense of grounding and a sense of understanding that enables them to interpret the world around them.”

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