In order for those visiting the exhibit to truly understand the breadth of American history presented in the paintings, Linda will offer lectures, and she will train the museum’s docents so they can convey as much information as possible about the significance of the artists and their work.Īllison points out that there will be several events surrounding the opening and showing of the exhibit that will target both adults and school children. John William Hill’s “Erie Canal, N.Y.,” 1831, presents laborers – many in top hats – working diligently. Worthington Whittredge’s “A Window, House on Hudson River,” 1863, offers a glimpse of a nursery scene, in which a servant playfully attends to a baby while sitting in an elaborately veiled window box.

There are a few breaks from the scenic paintings. Gift of the New-York Gallery of Fine Arts The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire, 1836 , Thomas Cole The Course of Empire: Desolation, 1836 Thomas Cole (American, 1801-1848) And several attempted, in their own unique expressions, to convey the majesty and awe of Niagara Falls, before there were hotels and tourist attractions at its edge. Those artists who ventured west captured soon-to-be-forgotten scenes, such as that of “Indian Encampment, Shoshone Village,” 1986 by Albert Bierstadt. The few people in the foreground of this scene seem to be in no hurry as they stroll along a path. Those examining the oil on canvas by George Henry of “Hudson River Valley from Fort Putnam, West Point,” 1855, might marvel at the extensive rolling hills and wilderness. Viewers will get a glimpse of how New York was beginning to bustle around the river’s edge more than 100 years ago. On display will be an oil painting by Andrew Melrose of “New York Harbor and the Battery,” 1885. The paintings serve, she points out, as a visual history. Lake Maggiore, Italy, 1858 Sanford Robinson Gifford (American, 1823-1880) Oil on canvas, 17 3/4 x 30 in. Linda explains in her catalog/book of the exhibit that some wanted to paint wilderness experiences in the West, the Arctic and the Andes. While these artists first focused their attention on the areas around the shores of the Hudson River, named for Henry Hudson whose exploratory voyage took place 400 years ago, some eventually sought inspiration farther from home. They viewed the natural world as a source of spiritual renewal and an expression of national identity. Whereas some considered their art to be old-fashioned and provincial, they were committed to capturing the American landscape in paintings and in words. Ferber, executive vice president and museum director of The New York Historical Society, the Hudson River School was considered a loosely knit group of artists – along with like-minded poets and writers – who garnered attention in the early 19th century in New York. “This would not have happened without their support.”Īccording to Linda S. They had seen some of the Hudson River paintings and were excited to have the exhibit come here,” says Karen Brosius, the museum’s executive director. “Melissa is a board member and serves on several museum committees, and she and Joe were also major donors of our last blockbuster exhibition, Turner to Cezanne. – while their permanent location in New York undergoes a $65 million renovation. The paintings are stopping at only three other cities – Fort Worth, Texas, Salem, Mass. “For us to be chosen as a stopping place for this exhibit is a big deal.”Īllison says that Melissa and Joe Blanchard, both local business owners, provided the leadership gift to ensure that The New York Historical Society, where the paintings are typically housed, would select Columbia to show the exhibit. “It’s a big hurrah,” explains Allison Horne, public relations manager of the Columbia Museum of Art. “Nature and The Grand American Vision: Masterpieces of the Hudson River School Painters,” will be showing in Columbia from Nov. That time in our history is gloriously captured in the 45 paintings that will be on display next month at the Columbia Museum of Art. In this zooming age of almost daily technological advances, super fast forms of transportation and rampant commercialization, it is often difficult to imagine a time in America when all was beautiful and scenic – and quite slow-moving, comparatively.

O beautiful for spacious