Trees and Boulders near Millinocket, Maine

Frederic Edwin Church's sketch documents the sparse landscape of northern Maine, where bare saplings and rocky outcrops define a region of geological interest. The study combines Church's characteristic precision in botanical observation with landscape notation, rendered in dark ink on paper. Church traveled extensively throughout North America seeking dramatic geological formations and wilderness subjects. This drawing represents the artist's working method—rapid field studies that captured specific natural phenomena for later reference or exhibition. The economical line work conveys both the delicate structure of young trees and the monumental weight of glacial boulders, typical of Maine's post-glacial terrain that fascinated nineteenth-century naturalists and artists alike.