Hudson River School - Historical and Contemporary Visions

In the past I have often walked quickly by any paintings which were dominated by the greens and brown tones used by the members of The Hudson River School because I found found them somewhat depressing.  However, the opportunity presented itself to visit the Albany Institute of History & Art which built its collection by acquiring works that represent the artistic inclination of artists living and working in the Upper Hudson Valley.  

The summer exhibit was entitled The Hudson River School and the Nineteenth-Century Landscape. 
Given the breath of the Institute's collection, there were a wide variety of artists and themes on display.  Consequently, I learned that The Judson River School artists when way beyond pasture scenes with cows or dark, dark forests.

James M. Hart, Valley Lands

Thomas Cole, Lake Winnepesaukee

Wandering through the two floor of the exhibit, I found many artists who
were unknown and made me realize that the Hudson River School should not be ignored.

John Vanderlyn, A Distant View of the Fall at Niagara

Asher B. Durant, Cathedral Ledge

DeWitt Clinton Boutelle, Catskills Mountain House

After truly enjoying many landscapes from the Hudson Valley School, I moved on to the SMALL + SEDUCTIVE: Contemporary Art from the Albany Institute's Collection.  It is difficult to share images of this show, but some of my favorites were done by  William B. Shade, Judy Alderfer-Abott, George Wexler and Marjorie  Portmaw.

It is often the unexpected that offers the most pleasure.  While waiting to meet my husband Jim, I had enough time to peek into the show SUMMER EXPLORE: Photographic Works by Martin Benjamin, Tom Fels, Dana Hoey, Will Jaeger and Caroly Blackwood.  As I walked through the several galleries housing the pictures by photographers, I started to ponder the difference between painting and photography.  When I got to the Carolyn Blackwood photographs I was simply amazed! A quote described her as a "misplaced painter who has a camera rather a paint brush" and I knew I had to think about photography in a new way. While looking at the Elements of Place, the barrier between photography and painting melted away from me.  Ms. Blackwood takes her inspiration from the Hudson River in upstate New York and the results are extraordinary beautiful.

Leaving the Albany Institute of History and Art, I was reminded how artists can often be placed on a continuum of art history. For this reason, I found it rewarding to view the original artists of the Hudson River School and discover how they influenced those who can after them.  I also realized that medium is not as significant as creative impulse.

Folk Art & Folly - Two Historic Homes and Their Collections

The Florence Griswold Museum is hosting an exhibit of Folk Art from the Fenimore Art Museum.  To compliment this show, the museum sponsored a trip to Cape Ann, Mass to visit two properties managed by Historic New England which is a comprehensive regional heritage organization committed to the preservation and cultural and architectural heritage of New England.

The first property we visited was Cogswell's Grant in Essex, Massachusetts

The Cogswell Grant house displays the American folk art collection of Bertram K. and Nina Fletcher Little which the couple accumulated over sixty years.  

         The Littles purchased the 165 acres Cogswell Grant farm in 1937 and carefully restored it as a home and a place to display their large collection of antiques and folk art.  The pieces in the collection continue to be displayed as the family lived with them.  Admittedly, early American furniture has never been one of my favorite art forms; however, I found myself fascinated by the many portraits that hung around the house.  For some reason these works seemed more interesting, more dynamic than those hanging in museum galleries.

I was also fascinating by the many small artifacts displayed as they would have appeared when the house was lived in.

                                                   

There are a number of paintings on the walls that were interesting because of their theme or technique.  While it added to the mood of the building to see this art hanging as a owners decided to place it; it was also frustrating because it was often difficult to get close to the art because there was an understandable prohibition against walking of the antique rugs.

It has been difficult to share pictures which can provide the full flavor of the breath and depth of the Little's collection of folk art.  Taking the Photographic tour of the Cogswell's Grant house might provide the reader with a sense of this unique historical and artistic site.

Beauport - Architectural curiosity overlooking Glouster Harbor

Henry Davis Sleeper

Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House, Glouster, Massachusetts is also a property managed by Historic New England.

This unusual house was the summer home of Henry Davis Sleeper, America's first professional interior designer.  It served Mr. Sleeper as a place to meet with clients and as a comfortable place to entertain his wide circle of well-known guests.  It also served as a venue to display Mr. Sleeper's collection of art, curiosities, colored glass, china, and historical artifacts.  Each of the 40 rooms has a unique theme based on some aspect of his collection.  The Charles McCann family purchased the house after Mr. Sleeper's death and kept it, for the most part, as it was in Sleeper's time.

 

An absolute favorite room on mine is the book tower - every home should have such a wonderful space!

There were also wonderful spaces that overlook the harbor.

The gardens provide wonderful spaces to relax.

Edward Hopper - How it began

Although the sun was hiding behind clouds as we put the top down and headed off to the Berkshires, one can never be disappointed when the destination is Stockbridge, Massachusetts and The Norman Rockwell Museum which was hosting a wonderful exhibit entitled:

 The Unknown Hopper: Edward Hopper as Illustrator.

Every museum visitor is well aware of the wonderful, bold paintings by Edward Hopper.  However, I imagine the average museum goer is less familiar with Hopper's work as an illustrator.  Hopper began his artistic career by studying illustration in New York - his parents felt he needed to be able to earn a living.  However, he always desired to paint reality rather than fictional subjects as part of a commission.  While Hopper may not have enjoyed his long career as an illustrator of magazines, books and periodical stories, we can appreciate and enjoy the results of his talents.

Men Seated ay Cafe Table

Boy and the Moon

Night Shadows

As impressive as the illustrations are, I must admit I am still drawn to Hopper's paintings - maybe I just love the familiar images.  The National Galley has created a wonderful documentary film on  Edward Hopper to compliment their 2007 exhibition of his creative life. The Whitney Museum in New York City hold many Hopper's works and it is understandable that one wants to revisit some of those wonderful works.  Enjoy!

Light at two Lights, 1927

Corn Hill, 1930

Early Sunday Morning, 1930

New York Interior, 1921

Norman Rockwell and his Art on Display

 

The reason for traveling to Stockbridge was to see the Hopper exhibition and yet it seems appropriate to make a few remarks on Norman Rockwell's art so nicely display in his well designed museum.  Many of Rockwell's oils delightfully document a version of the American experience.  One wonders whether it is appropriate to use the word document when referring to his art.

Below are a sampling of old and new favorites.

Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas

Art Critic

The museum has developed a timeline which outlines Rockwell's artistic career.  It is well worth the time to check it out.  

As you wander though the galleries you can't help but wonder, if life was ever as simple and innocent as Rockwell's art implies.  However, when one enters the central gallery and see the large canvases  depicting the Four Freedoms it is impossible not wonder what happened ...  how is it possible that a nation founded on that vision came to inherit the government we currently have.

The Art and Life of Anna Held Audette

After visiting Vision and Inspiration at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut,  I was content and maybe a little hungry, so I almost ignored the small gallery near the exit which announced an exhibit entitled The Way We Worked.  I am so very glad I did not!

Inside this small gallery there were actually two displays one which explored how work became "a central element in American culture", while the other part of the exhibit was a sampling of the paintings by Anna Held Audette, a Connecticut artist and educator who before her death in 2013 painted industrial ruins and abandoned machinery.  It is always extraordinarily gratifying to see the work of a women artist in the spotlight especially when the work is so interesting and unique.

 

Ship II, 2011

American

Scrap IX

 Anna Held Audette