Classroom Activity Inness in the Countryside Part of Art and Ecology Discussion of a landscape painting by George Inness will introduce students to the impact of the railroad to the countryside in mid-nineteenth century America. They will depict this same scenery as they envision it in the past and in the future. Lastly, they will write an essay on how they would preserve the environment as the head of a railroad company. George Inness, The Lackawanna Valley , c. 1856, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs