19th Century Louisiana Landscapes December 11, 2012

In the wake of the Civil War, the New Orleans-based artists Richard Clague, Marshall Smith Jr., and William Buck emerged to form a cohesive landscape tradition, the first of its kind in the region. These landscapes are fascinating not only for what they picture, but also for what they ignore. Clague, Smith, and Buck collectively turned away from the bustling and at-times contentious city they inhabited and focused on the seemingly un-complicated rural life of the post-Civil War Gulf South. Today, the paintings of Clague, Smith, Buck, and the followers of their style are collectively known as the "Bayou School."