# Peaceful Valley

**Alexander Helwig Wyant** (American, 1836–1892)  
c. 1872  
oil on canvas  
overall: 17.7 x 31.1 cm (6 15/16 x 12 1/4 in.) framed: 36.8 x 49.5 x 4.8 cm (14 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 1 7/8 in.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965.10.1. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.50295.html).

## About this work

Alexander Helwig Wyant painted this in about 1872, aged 36. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

The painting depicts a rural landscape at sunset or sunrise. The horizon is slightly above the center, showing distant pale-pink and purple mountains against the sky. Closest to us is an area with dark green bushes and vegetation, leading to a lighter green field surrounded by green-and-brown trees. The palette is warm and earthy, with greens and browns in the bottom transitioning to purples and pinks in the distance. The sky is a pale-yellow color that fades into light blue towards the top left corner, and faint yellow and gray clouds drift across it.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Alexander Helwig Wyant](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/alexander-helwig-wyant)

American, 1836–1892

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- The artist was 36
- Real size: about 7 × 12 in (18 × 31 cm). The 11 × 14 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: Landscape, United States
- Colour: ochre
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1535.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1535/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/peaceful-valley-nga-50295).