George Inness
American, 1825-1894
The Coming Storm, 1893
Oil on canvas
Museum purchase from the Beaux Arts Society Fund for Acquisitions in memory of James G. Harlow, Jr., 1996
Visual Description
This is a painting of a field of farm animals set against a foreboding, dark sky. In the foreground stands a dark brown bull lowing, facing the oncoming storm. On the right side of the painting appears to be a farm or homestead behind a large, white fallen tree trunk. In the distance are other cows, standing against the landscape while a flock of birds fly overhead. A sense of tension permeates the scene, as the animals sense the storm on the horizon.
Extended Label Text
A brown steer lifts its head, lowing, as a second cream-colored animal gazes off in the same direction. Above, a small flock of birds races through the ominous charcoal and gray-blue sky. George Inness’ monumental and mysterious The Coming Storm, produced one year before his death, depicts the animals’ instinctual response to the energy-filled landscape. Inness was inspired greatly by the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), a Swedish mystic and scientist who reported a special relationship with the spirit world through his dreams and visions. Here, the animals serve as the conduit to an invisible world.
