Before the American Classicist landscape artist Asher Brown Durand (1796-1886) became a painter, he worked with his father as a watchmaker. Later, he went to the engraver Peter Maverick, who assigned him a branch in New York to manage. In 1820, he cut ties with Maverick and went solo. His reputation grew and together with other artists, he founded the National Academy of Design. It is this step that brought Durand closer to painting. He admired Thomas Cole, and after buying a few of his paintings, they became friends. Durand took landscape painting seriously and in 1840, he went on a journey across Europe to study the old masters. In Britain, he met with the works of the important landscape painter John Constable. After returning, Durand took advantage of all the knowledge acquired in his paintings (Acknowledgment). In 1855, he became president of the National Academy of Design until his term was ended by the civil war.