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Student Artwork Guide

The Still Pool

John Frederick Kensett

Name Class Date
John Frederick Kensett, The Still Pool. Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
John Frederick Kensett originaluniqueart.com/en/artists/john-frederick-kensett/
Artist’s dates
1816 – 1872
Movement
Hudson River School American landscape painters treating vast untouched wilderness as something close to holy.

Copyright This work is in the public domain. John Frederick Kensett died in 1872; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1942.

Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 10, 2026

The Still Pool — John Frederick Kensett Part 1 · The artwork

In context

The Still Pool — John Frederick Kensett

When might this have been painted?

  1. 1810
  2. 1820
  3. 1830
  4. 1840
  5. 1850
  6. 1860
  7. 1870

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 56 at death.

Shaded: the lifetime of John Frederick Kensett (1816–1872) every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1853 Main working years: 1853–1870 Late works: from 1870

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: originaluniqueart.com/en/art/similar/john-frederick-kensett-the-still-pool-8LJ7N7-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Espresso #3c302a

    Catalogued palette

    • #3C302A
    • #E6E0B8
    • #7E5C35
    • #BEA263

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Neutrals The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Espresso
    Intensity
    Vivid How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Statement How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Strong Color Unity How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Brilliant How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Balanced Soft How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by John Frederick Kensett over the last twelve months — 8 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 67.2%4,100 visits
    2. 2 Hong Kong 14.8%900 visits
    3. 3 United States of America 6.6%400 visits
    4. 4 Singapore 4.9%300 visits
    5. 5 Belarus 1.6%100 visits
    6. 6 Hungary 1.6%100 visits
    7. 7 India 1.6%100 visits
    8. 8 Puerto Rico 1.6%100 visits

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by John Frederick Kensett

    1. 1 Hudson River Scene, 1857 5.8%400 visits
    2. 2 Sunset, 1872 4.3%300 visits
    3. 3 View on the Hudson, 1865 4.3%300 visits
    4. 4 Trout Fisherman, 1852 2.9%200 visits
    5. 5 The White Mountains - From North Conway, 1851 2.9%200 visits
    6. 6 Watering Cattle, 1844 2.9%200 visits
    7. 7 Sunset over Lake George, 1867 2.9%200 visits
    8. 8 Forest Interior with Stream 2.9%200 visits
    9. 9 The Seashore, 1863 2.9%200 visits
    10. 10 Black Mountain, Lake George 2.9%200 visits
    11. 11 Long Island Sound at Dawn 2.9%200 visits
    12. 12 Waterfall, 1856 1.4%100 visits
    13. 13 Shrewsbury River, 1856 1.4%100 visits
    14. 14 Seashore, 1861 1.4%100 visits
    15. 15 Long Neck Point from Contentment Island, Darien, Connecticut, 1870 1.4%100 visits
    16. 16 The Walking Tour, 1847 1.4%100 visits
    17. 17 Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, 1871 1.4%100 visits
    18. 18 Paradise Rocks, Newport, 1865 1.4%100 visits
    19. 19 Niagara Falls and the Rapids, 1851 1.4%100 visits
    20. 49 The Still Pool this painting 1.4%100 visits

    Together these works take 50.2% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 203 works by this artist, of which 54 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 49 of them, with 1.4% of that attention (100 visits). The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 10, 2026

    The Still Pool — John Frederick Kensett Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    John Frederick Kensett

    Born in Cheshire, United States of America

    a life devoted to capturing serene landscapes

    john frederick kensett, an american artist and engraver, was born on march 22, 1816, in cheshire, connecticut. as a member of the second generation of the hudson river school of artists, kensett's signature works are characterized by their serene and luminous qualities, celebrating the transcendental aspects of nature.

    early life and training

    kensett attended school at cheshire academy and studied engraving with his father, thomas kensett. he later worked as an engraver in new haven until 1838, then moved to new york city to work on banknote engravings. in 1840, kensett traveled to europe to study painting, refining his talents alongside benjamin champney.

    established studio and luminist style

    after establishing his studio in new york, kensett extensively traveled throughout the northeast and colorado rockies, capturing the essence of these landscapes. his style evolved from traditional hudson river school to a more refined luminist approach, characterized by unselfconscious brushstrokes conveying qualities of atmospheric light.

    mount washington from the valley of conway (1851), an iconic painting, was purchased by the american art union and distributed to 13,000 subscribers.

    eaton's neck, long island (1872), a prime example of kensett's luminist style, is now in the collection of the metropolitan museum of art in new york.

    legacy and contributions

    kensett was a founder of the metropolitan museum of art and a full member of the national academy of design. his work, widely acclaimed during his lifetime, continues to influence landscape painting. key works:

    sunset sky (ca. 1870), the metropolitan museum of art, new york

    three mile harbor (ca. 1860), museum of fine arts, tallahassee

    associated artists:

    thomas cole

    benjamin champney

    view john frederick kensett's art on AllPaintingsStore

    Where to read more

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for The Still Pool

    originaluniqueart.com/en/art/download/john-frederick-kensett-the-still-pool-8LJ7N7-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Kensett, John Frederick. The Still Pool. n.d., https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/john-frederick-kensett-the-still-pool-8LJ7N7-en/
    APA
    Kensett, John Frederick (n.d.). The Still Pool [Painting]. https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/john-frederick-kensett-the-still-pool-8LJ7N7-en/
    Chicago
    John Frederick Kensett. The Still Pool. n.d. https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/john-frederick-kensett-the-still-pool-8LJ7N7-en/
    Harvard
    Kensett, John Frederick (n.d.) The Still Pool. Available at: https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/john-frederick-kensett-the-still-pool-8LJ7N7-en/

    Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 10, 2026

    The Still Pool — John Frederick Kensett Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    The Still Pool — John Frederick Kensett

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. Our catalogue files this work under: american landscape, still water scene, atmospheric light. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    4. Look back at Trout Fisherman (1852), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. Hudson River School: American landscape painters treating vast untouched wilderness as something close to holy. Where can you see that in this work?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 10, 2026

    The Still Pool — John Frederick Kensett Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    Do the colors of "The Still Pool" appear strong or soft?

    The color intensity of "The Still Pool" is vivid. Intensity describes how strong the colors appear.

    What color saturation does "The Still Pool" by John Frederick Kensett have?

    The palette of "The Still Pool" is balanced soft in saturation.

    Can I order an oil reproduction of "The Still Pool"?

    Hand-painted copies of "The Still Pool" by John Frederick Kensett are sold on this website: a hand-painted oil reproduction on linen canvas, ordered from its Hand-Painted Reproduction page.