Fog-Lit Valley with Homestead is an evocative 22×20 inch original acrylic painting on paper by celebrated Argentine landscape artist Sergio Duff. Acquired from the historic Mitch Morse Gallery Inc. in New York City, this work exemplifies Duff’s mastery of mood and atmospheric light.
A luminous gray-beige mist drifts across the valley floor, broken only by subtle ridges and pools of reflected light. Two tall, softly rendered trees anchor the horizon, beside a small whitewashed cottage glowing faintly through the vapor. Duff’s signature short, controlled palette-knife strokes create a highly textured surface, blending earth tones—ochre, umber, slate violet, misty green—into a unified, poetic landscape.
The artwork reflects Duff’s tonalist European–South American hybrid style, developed through decades of study and travel. It bears the artist’s hand-signed signature “Duff” in the lower left and remains in very good frameable vintage condition. A beautiful example of Duff’s most sought-after atmospheric period.
Sergio Duff (born 1938, Argentina) is an esteemed landscape painter whose work is admired for its tonal subtlety, misty luminosity, and controlled palette-knife execution. Born in Argentina during a period rich with artistic experimentation, Duff showed strong early promise and, in 1957, enrolled at the distinguished Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernandoin Madrid—an academy known for its rigorous classical training and its influence on Spain’s modern artistic generation.
Duff’s education immersed him in Spanish Luminism, traditional Iberian landscape painting, and European tonalism. Seeking broader artistic exposure, Duff moved to Lyon, France, where he refined his sensitivity to atmosphere and texture. These experiences shaped his unique ability to render landscapes that feel both real and dreamlike.
After returning to South America, Duff lived and worked in Buenos Aires, and later divided his career between Argentina and Madrid, developing a mature style characterized by:
Fog-softened horizons and ethereal light
Precise short palette-knife strokes
Muted, harmonious color palettes
Quiet, introspective rural scenes
Duff exhibited widely across Spain, France, Argentina, and Brazil, gaining strong critical reception. When his work entered the United States through the Mitch Morse Gallery in New York, collectors took immediate interest, particularly in his tonalist valley landscapes. Critics have praised Duff for his “perfectly controlled knife technique” and his ability to “reconstruct nature with extraordinary sensitivity.”
Today, Duff remains respected for his serene, atmospheric portrayals of rural landscapes—works that continue to captivate American and international collectors.
SERGIO DUFF (b. 1938) – Ranchscape -“Fog-Lit Valley with Homestead”
Original acrylic on paper, 22×20 in., signed lower left. Atmospheric tonalist landscape featuring misty valley and trees rendered with Duff’s signature palette-knife technique. Very good condition. Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery, NYC; Private Collection; Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC.
Artist: Sergio Duff (b. 1938)
Title:Ranchscape III -Fog-Lit Valley with Homestead (attributed)
Medium: Acrylic on Paper
Dimensions: 22 × 20 inches
Signature: Hand-signed “Duff,” lower left
Date: Circa 1970s–1980s (Mitch Morse Gallery period)
Provenance:
Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York City
Private Collector, USA
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC (current owner)
This document certifies the authenticity and value of the above artwork by Sergio Duff, representing his characteristic atmospheric tonalist landscape style with masterful palette-knife technique.
Artist: Sergio Duff
Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York City (original distributor)
Private USA Collector
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC (current owner)
Fog-Lit Valley with Homestead is an evocative 22×20 inch original acrylic painting on paper by celebrated Argentine landscape artist Sergio Duff. Acquired from the historic Mitch Morse Gallery Inc. in New York City, this work exemplifies Duff’s mastery of mood and atmospheric light.
A luminous gray-beige mist drifts across the valley floor, broken only by subtle ridges and pools of reflected light. Two tall, softly rendered trees anchor the horizon, beside a small whitewashed cottage glowing faintly through the vapor. Duff’s signature short, controlled palette-knife strokes create a highly textured surface, blending earth tones—ochre, umber, slate violet, misty green—into a unified, poetic landscape.
The artwork reflects Duff’s tonalist European–South American hybrid style, developed through decades of study and travel. It bears the artist’s hand-signed signature “Duff” in the lower left and remains in very good frameable vintage condition. A beautiful example of Duff’s most sought-after atmospheric period.
Sergio Duff (born 1938, Argentina) is an esteemed landscape painter whose work is admired for its tonal subtlety, misty luminosity, and controlled palette-knife execution. Born in Argentina during a period rich with artistic experimentation, Duff showed strong early promise and, in 1957, enrolled at the distinguished Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernandoin Madrid—an academy known for its rigorous classical training and its influence on Spain’s modern artistic generation.
Duff’s education immersed him in Spanish Luminism, traditional Iberian landscape painting, and European tonalism. Seeking broader artistic exposure, Duff moved to Lyon, France, where he refined his sensitivity to atmosphere and texture. These experiences shaped his unique ability to render landscapes that feel both real and dreamlike.
After returning to South America, Duff lived and worked in Buenos Aires, and later divided his career between Argentina and Madrid, developing a mature style characterized by:
Fog-softened horizons and ethereal light
Precise short palette-knife strokes
Muted, harmonious color palettes
Quiet, introspective rural scenes
Duff exhibited widely across Spain, France, Argentina, and Brazil, gaining strong critical reception. When his work entered the United States through the Mitch Morse Gallery in New York, collectors took immediate interest, particularly in his tonalist valley landscapes. Critics have praised Duff for his “perfectly controlled knife technique” and his ability to “reconstruct nature with extraordinary sensitivity.”
Today, Duff remains respected for his serene, atmospheric portrayals of rural landscapes—works that continue to captivate American and international collectors.
SERGIO DUFF (b. 1938) – Ranchscape -“Fog-Lit Valley with Homestead”
Original acrylic on paper, 22×20 in., signed lower left. Atmospheric tonalist landscape featuring misty valley and trees rendered with Duff’s signature palette-knife technique. Very good condition. Provenance: Mitch Morse Gallery, NYC; Private Collection; Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC.
Artist: Sergio Duff (b. 1938)
Title:Ranchscape III -Fog-Lit Valley with Homestead (attributed)
Medium: Acrylic on Paper
Dimensions: 22 × 20 inches
Signature: Hand-signed “Duff,” lower left
Date: Circa 1970s–1980s (Mitch Morse Gallery period)
Provenance:
Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York City
Private Collector, USA
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC (current owner)
This document certifies the authenticity and value of the above artwork by Sergio Duff, representing his characteristic atmospheric tonalist landscape style with masterful palette-knife technique.
Artist: Sergio Duff
Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York City (original distributor)
Private USA Collector
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC (current owner)
