The Mill Stream, Montclair, New Jersey

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Artist: George Inness (American, 1825–1894)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 30 1/2 x 45 in. (77.47 x 114.3 cm) (canvas)
Museum: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Rights: Public Domain Mark

When George Inness moved to Montclair, New Jersey in 1878, his new surroundings of brooks, meadows, farms and woods became the inspiration for the remainder of the artist's career. Another element in the midst of this natural beauty was the printing company owned by Samuel Crump, the tower and chimney of which appear in the background of The Mill Stream, Montclair, New Jersey.

Today, this scene might be taken as a critique of industrialism, of factories encroaching on nature. At the time, however, the printing plant on the stream’s bank was viewed as a wonderful technological advancement, even a “civilizing” enhancement of the natural landscape. Inness’s loose brushwork gives the image a dreamlike quality.

Text: Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), CC BY 4.0.