Walden Pond Study (surface / depth)
Watercolor and pencil on paper
29 1/2" x 41 3/8"
2013

Walden Pond is the deepest body of fresh water in Massachusetts. In 1846, at a time when it was believed to be bottomless, Thoreau surveyed the pond and found that its deepest point was 102 feet. Using an electronic depth meter as well as a rope like the one Thoreau had relied on, measurements were taken at 298 points in the pond over the course of three days. At each location, the color of the water’s surface was matched to a corresponding hue in a binder of watercolor samples made on earlier trips to the site. All this data was then used to create this drawing, effectively a portrait of the pond.