The Poetry of Nature: Hudson River School Landscapes from the New-York Historical Society

The New Britain Museum of American Art

January 28 to March 22

A stunning array of over 40 paintings created between 1818 and 1886, The Poetry of Nature illustrates America’s scenic splendor as seen through the eyes of over 25 leading Hudson River School artists, including Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, John F. Kensett, Albert Bierstadt, as well as lesser-known but important artists Josephine Walters, Christopher Pearse Cranch, and Louisa Davis Minot, among others.

Albert Bierstadt, Autumn Woods, Oneida County, State of New York, 1886. Oil on linen, 54 x 84 in. New-York Historical Society. Gift of Mrs. Albert Bierstadt, 1910.11

Its display at the NBMAA will include the addition of works by Robert S. Duncanson, the first Black artist of the Hudson River School to gain international acclaim. Drawn from the collection of the New-York Historical Society, the exhibition explores the exchange of influence among this group of artists, their favored sketching grounds, and the legacy of Hudson River School painting today.

William Louis Sonntag (1822-1900), Morning in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Va., ca. 1858, oil on canvas, 36 x 56 in., The Robert L. Stuart Collection, the gift of his widow Mrs. Mary Stuart, S-107

The exhibition has been organized by the New-York Historical Society, which features one of the most renowned collections of Hudson River School paintings. Dr. Linda S. Ferber, the director emerita of New-York Historical’s Museum and a leading authority on Hudson River School artists, is the curator for this extraordinary exhibition.

 Asher B. Durand, Catskill Clove, N.Y., 1864, Oil on Canvas, 15 x 24 in. Gift of Nora Durand Woodman, New-York Historical Society.

This exhibition has been generously supported by the Kathryn Cox Special Exhibitions Fund. Additional support provided by the Bailey Family Fund for Special Exhibitions and Special Exhibition Fund donors Marian and Russell Burke and John N. Howard.

The Poetry of Nature programs are made possible by John M. & Saundra L. Jezowski, The Tomasso Family in memory of Jim Tomasso, and Connecticut Humanities. Additional support for programs is provided by Sharon and Dave Jepson, Allison and Jay Bombara, Dona and Michael Cassella, Kelly and Jonathan Jarvis, and Ken Carifa and Mark Garavel.

Image: Louisa Davis Minot (1788-1858), "Niagara Falls," 1818. Oil on canvas. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Mrs. Waldron Phoenix Belknap, Sr. to the Waldron Phoenix Belknap, Jr. Collection, 1956

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