Landscape near Latacunga, Ecuador

Frederic Edwin Church's sketch captures the dramatic topography of Ecuador's highlands during his South American travels. The composition emphasizes volcanic peaks and valleys rendered in quick, assured strokes—a working study that demonstrates the artist's method of recording landscape forms for later development into finished paintings. Church's expeditions to remote regions established him as a leading figure in American landscape art, expanding the visual vocabulary of the Hudson River School beyond North American subjects.