Durrie

1820

George Henry Durrie is born in New Haven, CT on June 6th. He is baptized on October 22, 1820 in New Haven, CT.

About the Artist

The World

1821

Napoleon, the famous French political and military leader, dies on May 5th, in St. Helena.

United States

1825

Thomas Cole founds the Hudson River School, starting a movement of influential landscape artists.

United States

1826

Both former presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams die on Independence Day.

Connecticut

1828

Farmington Canal opened.

United States

1831

The staunch abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing his antislavery paper, The Liberator, that would become a critical part of the abolitionist movement.

Paintings

1831

Thomas Cole paints Study for a Wild Scene, now in the Florence Griswold Museum

Connecticut

1832

Yale University Art Gallery, the oldest college art museum in the country, is founded after a generous donation from John Trumbull.

The World

1833

Slavery is abolished in the British Empire.

Connecticut

1836

Samuel Colt, Hartford resident, receives U.S. patent for the revolver.

Connecticut

1838

Railroad completed between New Haven and Hartford.

Durrie

1839

George Durrie and his older brother John (1818-1890) begin taking art lessons from Nathaniel Jocelyn (1796-1881), a New Haven engraver and portraitist.

Durrie begins to paint portraits in the Bethany and Hartford areas.

Connecticut

1839

Africans from the Amistad held on trial and imprisoned in New Haven.

More About the Trial

The World

1839

The Daguerreotype, the first photographing process available to the public, is introduced worldwide. Though only popular for the next two decades, it played an influential role in the advancement of photography, and allowed major historical figures, such as Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, to be captured in picture.

Paintings

1839

Durrie paints Self Portrait as a Young Man now in the Shelburne Museum.

Durrie

1840

Durrie paints family portraits in Naugatuck and Meriden, CT.

Connecticut

1840

Connecticut begins to hit its peak of whaling in ports around the state.

Durrie

1841

Durrie marries Sarah A. Perkins (1814-1900) of Bethany, CT, on September 14th, and they settle in New Haven.

Durrie and Sarah’s first son, George Boice Durrie, is born on October 9th.

United States

1841

William Henry Harrison becomes the first president to die in office, and is succeeded by Vice President John Tyler.

Connecticut

1842

Wadsworth Atheneum, the first public art museum in America, opens in Hartford.

Durrie

1843

Durrie has first public show at the Academy of Design in New York City. He also shows at the New Haven Horticultural Society.

Connecticut

1843

Durrie paints Self Portrait, now in the National Portrait Gallery.

Durrie

1844

Durrie shows another snow scene, The Sleighing Party at the National Academy of Design, New York.

Durrie’s Portfolio

Connecticut

1844

Charles Goodyear, of Connecticut, receives patent for vulcanized rubber, which would spark effective rubber manufacturing in Connecticut.

About Charles Goodyear

United States

1844

Sam Morse sends historic first message through the first commercial telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore, rapidly changing the speed and way that Americans communicate and live.

Durrie

1845

Durrie begins to keep a daily diary recording the weather and his day to day activities (art sessions, church visits, lectures, meals, etc.) on January 1 and continues until July 1, 1846. Diary is currently in the archives of the New Haven Museum.

United States

1845

President Tyler annexes Texas, making it the 28th state to be admitted to the Union.

The World

1845

The Great Famine, also known as the Irish Potato Famine, begins, causing the death of many Irish citizens and a massive emigration movement.

Durrie

1847

Durrie’s second son, Benjamin Woodhouse Durrie, is born on May 2nd.

Connecticut

1848

Slavery is abolished in Connecticut.

United States

1848

California Gold Rush begins, causing a sharp increase in population that led to California becoming a state.

Connecticut

1849

First teachers’ college is founded at New Britain, which is now Central Connecticut State University.

Paintings

ca. 1850s

Durrie paints Susan Gilbert, now in the New Haven Museum.

Paintings

1851

Durrie paints Sleighs Arriving at an Inn, now part of a private collection.

Durrie paints The Country Inn, now in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Durrie’s Portfolio

Durrie

1852

Durrie’s first daughter, Mary Clarissa Durrie, is born on August 23 (she dies on March 25, 1941).

United States

1852

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the wildly popular novel that helped fuel the abolitionist movement, is published.

More About Uncle Tom’s Cabin

The World

1853

Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan with the intent of forming a trade treaty, which would eventually cause Japan to have a rapidly developing and successful economy.

Paintings

1853

Durrie paints Seven Miles to Farmington.

Durrie paints West Rock, New Haven, now in the New Haven Museum.

Durrie paints East Rock, New Haven, now in the New Haven Museum.

Visit the Visual Glossary

About the Painting

Paintings

1853-54

Durrie paints Winter at Jones Inn — Nine Miles To Hartford, now part of a private collection.

Durrie

1854

Durrie opens a studio at 5 Marble Block in New Haven, CT. He holds a sale of his WINTER SCENES of a size suited to the parlor or drawing room on May 11th.

Paintings

1855

Durrie paints Jones Inn, Winter, now part of the White House Collection.

Durrie paints Farmyard in Winter, now part of the White House Collection.

Durrie

1857

Durrie begins to concentrate on painting winter landscapes.

Paintings

1857

Durrie paints East Rock, New Haven, now in the New Haven Museum.

Durrie paints Winter in the Country, now in the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.

About the Location

Durrie

1858-60

Frederic E. Church paints A Catskill Landscape, now in the Florence Griswold Museum.

Connecticut

1858

Historic Charter Oak tree falls in a storm.

More About Historic Oaks

United States

1859

The abolitionist John Brown raids the armory in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Though the raid failed, it amplified the tensions between the North and South even further and making civil war.

The World

1859

Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species, establishing the idea of natural selection, and forever changing evolutionary theory.

More About Charles Darwin

United States

1860

Abraham Lincoln is elected President of the United States.

Paintings

1860-63

Durrie paints The Old Inn – Ten Miles to Salem, now in the Shelburne Museum.

Durrie’s Portfolio

Durrie

1861

Currier & Ives publish lithographs of two of Durrie’s winter landscape, New England Winter Scene (1858) and Farmyard in Winter.

Durrie

1862

Auction of 71 works by Durrie is held in New York City. Sales of $2,500.

Paintings

1862

Durrie paints Winter in the Country: A Cold Morning, now in the Shelburne Museum.

Durrie paints Summer Landscape, now in the Florence Griswold Museum.

Durrie paints East Rock, New Haven, now in the Florence Griswold Museum.

Durrie

1863

Currier & Ives publish two more of Durrie’s paintings as lithographs: The Farmers Home, Winter and Winter Morning, Feeding the Chickens.

Durrie dies in New Haven, CT on October 15th. He is buried at Laurel Avenue East in the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven.

According to Durrie expert, Dr. Martha Hutson-Saxton, “Durrie was developing this composition at the end of his life in 1863. The painting was most likely in his studio at his death, which would explain the lack of signature. At age forty-three, Durrie was painting at the height of his stylistic development. Winter in the Country, A Cold Morning is one of his best contributions to native winter landscape painting in the nineteenth century.” Information courtesy of Heritage Auctions, New York.

United States

1863

Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, granting freedom to slaves in rebelling states.

About the Emancipation Proclamation

Battle of Gettysburg takes place, resulting in a Union victory that many consider to be one of the most influential in the American Civil War.

Read the Summary

Paintings

1863

Although this painting is undated, its attribution to George Henry Durrie has been fully endorsed by Durrie expert, Dr. Martha Hutson-Saxton, who had the opportunity to examine it firsthand in 1989 when it emerged on the art market. She noted in private correspondence to Heritage Auctions, New York, “I was very impressed with the painting, Winter in the Country, A Cold Morning by George Henry Durrie (1820-1863). This version with the ox sledge, 26 x 36 inches, is an exceptionally fine work.” Information courtesy of Heritage Auctions, New York.

Durrie

1864

Currier & Ives publish lithographs of two of Durrie’s winter landscape, The Old Homestead, Winter, Winter in the Country: A Cold Morning, Winter in the Country: The Old Grist Mill, and Winter in the Country: Getting Ice.

United States

1865

John Wilkes Booth assassinates President Abraham Lincoln, killing him less than a week after the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse.

The American Civil War, the deadliest war in United States history, ends.

Durrie

1867

Currier & Ives publish lithographs of Durrie’s painting, Autumn in New England, Cider Making.

Currier & Ives publish lithographs of Durrie’s painting, Home to Thanksgiving.

Connecticut

1868

Connecticut gives land in Groton to the U.S. Navy, which would eventually develop into the Naval Submarine Base.

United States

1869

First transcontinental railroad completed.

Paintings

1871

John F. Kensett paints Fort Dumpling, Rhode Island, now in the Florence Griswold Museum.