George Nelson Cass (American, 1831-1882), "New Jersey Meadows"

Catalogue Note: George Nelson Cass was, in his day, a major exponent of the Barbizon landscape aesthetic and a still life painter of note. In the 1860's and late 1870's Cass was a neighbor of George Inness in Medfield, Massachusetts and studied with this highly regarded and influential American landscape artist. Cass highly regarded Inness and often sent aspiring young artists such as Mark Fisher and John Austin Sands Monks to Inness for tutelage.

During the time when Cass was living in Medfield, the town briefly assumed an important artistic identity, particularly due to Inness moving there in 1860. Due to its proximity to Boston, the pastoral lanscapes, and Inness' depiction of the landscape, Medfield became known as America's Barbizon. Several Boston artists flocked to Medfield to work with Inness, including George Cass.

George Cass exhibited his works during the 1860's, when this particular painting was executed, at the National Academy of Design and Boston Athenaeum. During the 1870's he primarily exhibited at the Boston Art Club.

The influence George Inness had on Cass can clearly be seen in his painting New Jersey Meadows. As with Inness' works, such as Evening Landscape, 1863, Cass creates a spirituality and romance to the landscape by washing the trees and meadow in the warm, red glow of the sun. The painting truly depicts all of the elements which made Cass such a major exponent in the American Barbizon movement.