The Poetry of Nature
Hudson River School Landscapes from the New-York Historical Society
On view May 13 - September 30, 2023
Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), Autumn Woods, Oneida County, State of New York, ca. 1886, Oil on linen, New-York Historical Society, Gift of Mrs. Albert Bierstadt,1910.11
The Hudson River School rose to eminence in New York during the first half of the 19th century. This loosely knit group of artists, together with like-minded poets and writers, forged a self-consciously “American” landscape vision and literary voice. Both were grounded in the exploration of the natural world as a resource for spiritual renewal and as an expression of cultural and national identity. The Hudson River and the varied scenery along its banks, along with the Catskill, Adirondack and White Mountains and beyond, provided the subjects for many of their landscape paintings.
Poetry of Nature, comprising of some 40 paintings by 25 artists ranging in date from 1818 to 1886, offers a varied survey of important paintings conceived in the style of the Hudson River School and further enriched by each artist’s personal vision. The exhibition also offers an opportunity to explore the exchanges of influence among a group of artists whose social and professional networks in New York City and at their favored sketching grounds established an artistic vision that we now recognize as the Hudson River School.
The exhibition has been organized by the New-York Historical Society.
Dr. Linda S. Ferber is guest curator for the exhibition.
Photographs by Bailey Tillman.
Acknowledgements
This exhibition is organized by the New-York Historical Society and is presented by the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Support comes from MMAM Board of Directors, Greg and Terri Evans, Mrs. Elizabeth Burke and Mr. Kent Gernander, Mr. George Parke III and Mrs. Sabina Bosshard, the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation, and the generosity from the sustaining contributions from foundations, corporations, individuals, members and volunteers.
Lead Sponsor: Carl & Verna Schmidt Foundation
Presenting Partner: New-York Historical Society
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.
RElated Programming
Related Exhibition
Creating The Illusion of Light: Contemporary Landscape Painters
ON VIEW MAY 13 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2023
Painting en plein air, or simply put, painting in the outdoors, is an act of both chasing an illusion and understanding how to capture it. Creating The Illusion of Light features the work of two Minnesota landscape painters who have spent their careers instructing and encouraging others to take to the easel. Fred Somers, concerns himself and the others he teaches to approach landscape painting like a spiritual quest. Kami Mendlik twists the illusion of light into something concrete that can be put onto canvas with a calculated recipe of pigment and paint.
Creating The Illusion of Light puts Somers and Mendlik’s work together for the first time. This exhibition is meant to orient visitors to The Poetry of Nature - Hudson River School Paintings from the New-York Historical Society, pointing out the subtle, almost invisible techniques landscape painters rely on to make their work appear the way it does. Somers and Mendlik, at times mentor and mentee for one another, have devoted their lives to teaching others how to take what nature does naturally and convert it to canvas.