Hudson River School artists’ exhibition from the New-York Historical Society to open at Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art
The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at the State University of New York at New Paltz will hold the opening reception for the much-anticipated exhibition “The Hudson River to Niagara Falls, 19th-Century American Landscape Paintings from the New-York Historical Society” from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, in The Dorsky Museum.
This headliner exhibition of the museum’s “Art & The River” series, which coincides with New York State’s Hudson 400th, will present 45 landscape paintings by Hudson River School artists selected from the permanent collection of the New-York Historical Society (N-YHS) and will feature 19th century paintings that were executed between 1818 and 1892. The collection will also include several recently conserved paintings which have not been shown to the public in more than 50 years.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for the Dorsky Museum and also for Hudson Valley residents and visitors,” said Dorsky Museum director Sara Pasti. “The work on display includes some of the best-known landscape paintings of the Hudson River, the Catskill Mountains and the Adirondacks that were painted by artists like Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt. We are grateful to the New-York Historical Society for making it possible for us to show these works in our galleries.”
The paintings depict generally identifiable landscapes, historic sites, natural wonders and waterways of New York State from the mouth of the Hudson River in Manhattan north to the Hudson Valley, Adirondacks and then westward to Niagara Falls by way of the Erie Canal.
Curated by N-YHS Senior Art Historian Dr. Linda S. Ferber, and organized by the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art and the New-York Historical Society, the exhibit will be on view through December 2009 and will appear only at The Dorsky Museum. The opening reception on July 11 will include remarks by Dr. Ferber.
Important landscape paintings by Hudson River School painters such as Albert Bierstadt, John W. Casilear, Thomas Cole, Jasper Cropsey, Asher B. Durand and George Inness will be organized geographically, starting at the mouth of the Hudson in New York’s harbor and following the river’s course northward and westward along the Erie Canal, enabling the visitor to explore themes that illuminate the sites that drew both artists and travelers.
The Dorsky Museum’s Art & The River Series In conjunction with the headliner exhibition opening on July 11, The Dorsky Museum will also present a complete photographic panorama of the Hudson River, including both banks and stretching from Manhattan to Albany. “Panorama of the Hudson River: Greg Miller” is comprised of recently created photographs, by Monroe, N.Y.-based landscape photographer Greg Miller.
Miller’s exhibit is part of the museum’s “Art & The River” series, which features exhibitions of art of the Hudson River from the 19th century to today and extends through December 2009.
The “Hudson River to Niagara Falls” exhibition was made possible with a $143,449 Federal grant from Congressman and New Paltz alumnus Maurice Hinchey (’68, ’70g) and the support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.
“Hudson River to Niagara Falls” and the “Art & The River” exhibitions are supported by funds from M&T Bank, Jacobowitz & Gubits, Timely Signs of Kingston, Inc., the Friends of the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, and the State University of New York at New Paltz.
Elegantly illustrated, full-color exhibition catalogs of “Hudson River to Niagara Falls” will be on sale at The Dorsky Museum during the exhibition time period.
Suggested admission to The Dorsky Museum is $5. For event details, reservations, accessibility, or directions, visit www.newpaltz.edu/museum or call (845) 257-3844. The Dorsky Museum will be open Wednesday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed on Monday, Tuesday, national and university holidays.