Forest in the Morning Light - Public domain dedication, National Gallery of Art

Asher B. Durand was born on August 21, 1796, in Jefferson Village (now Maplewood), New Jersey, and studied engraving with his father, a watchmaker and silversmith. From 1812 to 1817 he was apprenticed to the New Jersey engraver Peter Maverick. In 1817 he formed a partnership with Maverick and opened a branch of the firm in New York. Around 1818 Durand began informal study and drawing from plaster casts at the American Academy of Fine Arts, where his work came to the attention of the Academy's president, John Trumbull (1756-1843). In 1820 Trumbull commissioned Durand to engrave his painting The Declaration of Independence (1787-1820, Yale University Art Gallery). Durand became a leading engraver, and enjoyed considerable success producing bank notes, book illustrations, portraits, and copies after other artists' works.