Updated October 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 470 works by George Inness in our catalogue
In short
Sunrise (1887) is the George Inness painting that draws the most eyes; the original belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. After it, the eye goes to The Valley of the Shadow of Death (1867) and Two Sisters in the Garden (1882). Among the 470 works of George Inness in our catalog, these 100 are the most famous, each a unique original presented with its year, its museum and the reason it endures.
The world awakens in a soft, buttery glow as the sun begins its ascent over a quiet rural meadow. A luminous, yellow sky radiates warmth, casting a gentle radiance across the sprawling field. Everything feels suspended in a thick, gentle haze that blurs the edges of reality. Two prominent trees frame the scene, their forms softened by the morning mist. One stands slender and central, while a larger, leafier tree…
The Valley of the Shadow of Death is an oil on canvas work by the American artist George Inness. Created in 1867, this piece represents a significant moment in the artist's development, moving toward a more spiritualized landscape. It is an American work that captures a sense of profound solitude within a rugged, mountainous terrain.
The air feels heavy with the scent of damp earth and blooming flora as two young women stand amidst a lush, green sanctuary. They are positioned slightly to the left, framed by the slender, reaching branches of trees that seem to lean in to witness their silent communion. A soft, diffused light filters through an overcast sky, casting gentle shadows that blur the edges of their forms. Their dresses flow…
The Monk is a landscape painting by George Inness. He created this oil on canvas in 1873 while working in Italy. A solitary figure occupies the center of the view, framed by the quietude of the natural world. The work carries the accession number 1956.6.
Early Moonrise, Florida (also known as Early Morning, Florida) is an oil on canvas created by George Inness in 1908. The work belongs to the Tonalism style, a movement characterized by the artist's focus on atmosphere and the spiritual essence of the natural world.
Royal Beech in New Forest, Lyndhurst1887 · Brooklyn Museum
12
The Home of the Heron1893 · Art Institute of Chicago
13
The Goat Herder1853
14
Delaware Water Gap1857
15
George Inness (1825-1894)1872 · New York Historical Society
16
The Perugian Valley1873
17
Passing Clouds (also known as Passing Shower)1876
18
Gossip1884 · Spencer Museum of Art
19
An Old Roadway1880 · Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
20
Edge of the Woods1890
21
In a Shady Nook1893
22
Crossing the Ford1848 · Art Institute of Chicago
23
Near Perugia, Italy1879 · Philadelphia Museum of Art
24
A Marine1874 · Art Institute of Chicago
25
In the Adirondacks1862 · Yale University Art Gallery
26
Morning1878 · Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
27
Sunset in Georgia1890
28
Landscape with Figure1878 · Museum of Fine Arts
29
Summer in the Catskills1867 · Art Institute of Chicago
30
Hudson River Valley1867 · Detroit Institute of Arts
31
Castel Gandolfo1874 · Portland Art Museum
32
In the Berkshires1848 · Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
33
The Moon at Night1890 · Art Institute of Chicago
34
Moonrise1891 · Art Institute of Chicago
35
The Mill Pond1889 · Art Institute of Chicago
36
Summer Days1857 · Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
37
a passing shower
38
End of Day Montclair
39
November Montclair1893
40
Sunlit Valley1893 · Art Institute of Chicago
41
Afterglow1893 · Art Institute of Chicago
42
The Lonely Pine1893 · Detroit Institute of Arts
43
Summer Days, Cattle Drinking Late Summer, Early Autumn1857 · Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
44
Lake Albano, Sunset1874 · National Gallery of Art
45
Christmas Eve (also known as Winter Moonlight)1866
46
The Old Mill1849 · Art Institute of Chicago
47
Autumn Meadows1869 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
48
Harvest, Montclair, New Jersey1884 · Art Institute of Chicago
49
A gray, lowery day
50
Afterglow
51
Threatening1891 · Art Institute of Chicago
52
A Short Cut, Watchung Station, N.J.1883 · Philadelphia Museum of Art
53
Evening Landscape1863
54
Woodland Vista1846 · Museum of Fine Arts
55
Landscape1842 · El Paso Museum of Art
56
Afternoon1846 · New Britain Museum of American Art
57
Hils and Dales1846
58
Landscape1846
59
In the White Mountains, Summer1859
60
Moonlight, Tarpon Springs1892 · The Phillips Collection
61
The Wood Chopper1849 · Cleveland Museum of Art
62
A Silver Morning1884 · Art Institute of Chicago
63
View in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Clearing Off after a September Storm1849 · Buffalo Bill Center of The West
64
Page from a Sketch Book, (painting)1850
65
a bit of the roman aqueduct1852
66
The Lackaanna Valley1855 · National Gallery of Art
67
Summer Morning1850
68
Early Morning, Tarpon Springs1892 · Art Institute of Chicago
69
Durham, Connecticut1858 · Cleveland Museum of Art
70
The Road to the Farm1862 · Museum of Fine Arts
71
Villa Borghese, Rome1857 · Museum of Fine Arts
72
Sunset Landscape, Medfield1861 · Museum of Fine Arts
73
Twilight1860 · Williams College Museum of Art
74
Roman Campagna1858 · New Britain Museum of American Art
75
On the Delaware River1861 · Brooklyn Museum
76
Lake Nemi1857 · Yale University Art Gallery
77
Clearing Up1860
78
A View Near Medfield1861 · Harvard Art Museums
79
Pastoral Scene1857
80
scene on the hudson1861
81
Landscape with Sheep1858
82
Old Elm at Medfield1860
83
Spring1860
84
Oaks Near Medfield1863
85
Dawn1860
86
Landscape with Sheep1858
87
Sunset1860
88
Winter Evening, Montclair1860
89
Lake Nemi1857 · Yale University Art Gallery
90
Marine off Big Rock1857
91
Landscape1860
92
Phantom Sea1856
93
St. Peter's, Rome1857
94
Delaware Valley1860 · Brigham Young University Museum of Art
95
The Deleware Water Gap1861
96
Coast Scene1857
97
Fisherman in a Stream1857
98
Landscape1860 · National Academy of Design
99
The Huntsman1859
100
Medway, Massachusetts1869 · Saint Louis Art Museum
The four subjects that come back most often in these originals, each with its finest example.
The 8 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by George Inness | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 Art Institute of Chicago |
Chicago | 26 | Two Sisters in the Garden, The Home of the Heron, Crossing the Ford |
 Museum of Fine Arts |
Boston | 15 | Woodland Vista, The Road to the Farm, Villa Borghese, Rome |
 Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum |
Madrid | 6 | Morning, In the Berkshires, Summer Days |
 Cleveland Museum of Art |
Cleveland | 12 | The Wood Chopper, Durham, Connecticut |
 Metropolitan Museum of Art |
New York | 8 | Sunrise, Autumn Meadows |
 Philadelphia Museum of Art |
Philadelphia | 8 | Near Perugia, Italy, A Short Cut, Watchung Station, N.J. |
 Brooklyn Museum |
Brooklyn | 7 | Royal Beech in New Forest, Lyndhurst, On the Delaware River |
 National Gallery of Art |
Washington | 5 | Lake Albano, Sunset, The Lackaanna Valley |
Pick a decade to see the original that defines it.
The afternoon sun filters through a soft, hazy atmosphere, casting a gentle light over a shallow riverbed. Here, the world moves at the pace of a slow current. A rider on horseback leads the way, navigating the rippling water alongside cattle and sheep. There is a profound sense of rhythm in this movement, a steady, purposeful crossing that defines the essence of rural life. Large, towering trees frame the scene…
The Valley of the Shadow of Death is an oil on canvas work by the American artist George Inness. Created in 1867, this piece represents a significant moment in the artist's development, moving toward a more spiritualized landscape. It is an American work that captures a sense of profound solitude within a rugged, mountainous terrain.
The Monk is a landscape painting by George Inness. He created this oil on canvas in 1873 while working in Italy. A solitary figure occupies the center of the view, framed by the quietude of the natural world. The work carries the accession number 1956.6.
The world awakens in a soft, buttery glow as the sun begins its ascent over a quiet rural meadow. A luminous, yellow sky radiates warmth, casting a gentle radiance across the sprawling field. Everything feels suspended in a thick, gentle haze that blurs the edges of reality. Two prominent trees frame the scene, their forms softened by the morning mist. One stands slender and central, while a larger, leafier tree…
Sunrise (1887), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Valley of the Shadow of Death (1867) and Two Sisters in the Garden (1882) come next.
62 years old: Sunrise dates from 1887, and George Inness was born in 1825.
Sunrise, The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Two Sisters in the Garden, The Monk, Slow Fading Day, Evening Glow, Harvest Moon, Spirit of Autumn, the old farm, montclair and Early Moonrise, Florida (also known as Early Morning, Florida). The ranking above gives each one's year and museum.
Our catalog holds 470 works by George Inness, dated from 1842 to 1893.
Mostly in Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston) and Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Madrid). The museum table above lists them all.
In 1860s: 25 of the 100 works on this page were made then, The Valley of the Shadow of Death among them.
On this page, the earliest is Landscape (1842) and the latest the old farm, montclair (1893).
Landscape (24), Sky (21) and Trees (16), across the 100 works on this page.
Oil On Canvas, for 35 of the 100 works on this page.
Tonalism and American impressionism, judging by the originals on this page.
Two Sisters in the Garden, The Home of the Heron and Crossing the Ford: the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago holds 15 of the works on this page.
Yes, as a reproduction: the original stays in its museum, but any painting on this page can be painted by hand for you, made to order one at a time, from the painting's own page.
George Inness stands as a pivotal figure in American Impressionism, a movement that sought to capture fleeting moments of beauty and emotion through luminous color palettes and loose brushstrokes. Born in Newburgh, New York, Inness developed an artistic vision that prioritized introspection and spiritual contemplation, reflecting a profound engagement with philosophical ideas. Unlike the grand narratives championed by the Hudson River School, his landscapes were imbued with a palpable serenity, portraying rural scenes and animal life with a remarkable sensitivity to light and atmosphere. His dedication to capturing the essence of the natural world resulted in works that transcend mere representation, offering instead a window into a more meditative reality.
His formative years were deeply marked by exposure to Transcendentalist thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Their emphasis on intuition and the spiritual connection with the natural world profoundly shaped his artistic sensibilities. While he pursued formal training at Yale University, much of his true education was self-directed. During the mid-1850s, a crucial period for absorbing Impressionistic techniques, Inness traveled to Paris. There, he immersed himself in the burgeoning movements of the era, studying under masters like Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet. These encounters solidified his commitment to capturing immediate visual sensations rather than meticulously recreating reality.
In Paris, Inness began to experiment with plein air painting, working outdoors directly from nature to develop a distinctive style characterized by subtle gradations of color and textured brushwork. This period was essential in his transition toward a more atmospheric approach to landscape. He moved away from the rigid details of his early influences, seeking instead to capture the "power of motive" and a sense of grandeur that avoided being belittled by trifling detail. His later works became increasingly influenced by the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg, which introduced a deeper layer of spiritualism into his mature compositions.
The breadth of his artistic development can be seen through several key elements of his technique:
Throughout a prolific career spanning more than forty years and encompassing over 1,000 paintings, Inness’s oeuvre remains a cornerstone of American art history. His ability to blend the influences of the Barbizon school with an uniquely American sensibility allowed him to become a leading artist-philosopher of his generation. Iconic works such as The Dark Side of Twilight and Winter Landscape continue to be celebrated for their masterful depiction of the ephemeral qualities of nature. By focusing on the internal, spiritual response to the landscape, George Inness left an enduring legacy that continues to inspire artists who strive for expressive depth and emotional resonance in their work.
