Unlike Durrie, they were less interested in the beauty of their everyday worlds or in trying to include any material which might seem controversial. It has frequently been argued by art critics and historians, that the works of natural landscape artists like George Durrie bear an unspoken subtext (Hutson)
From this book, and his studies, he began to devise his own approach to art, which was distinctly modern. He later said, "Some become sculptors because they like using their hands, or because they love particular materials, wood or stone, clay or metal, and like working in these materials -- that is, they like the craft of sculpture -- I do'" (Grohmann 16)
After his death, many museums offered retrospectives of his work, and more than one critic began to realize the import of his work. One critic said his "sheer virtuosity of invention was breathtaking" (Kramer 18)