Displaying items by tag: Hudson Valley

The work of 30 prominent contemporary artists is going on display at Hudson Valley sites linked to two of the most influential figures in American art.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill and the Olana State Historic Site across the river in Hudson have announced that they'll co-host an exhibit of contemporary art to highlight the role the two properties played in shaping American art in the 19th century.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, NY is currently hosting the exhibition Albert Bierstadt in New York & New England. Guest curated by Anne Blaugrund, former director of National Academy Museum in New York, the exhibition features a wide selection of Albert Bierstadt’s (1830-1902) east coast paintings.

Bierstadt (1830-1902) a German-American painter best known for his lush landscapes of the American west, also spent time capturing the natural beauty of the White Mountains, the Hudson Valley, and New England in his work. All of the works on view were created between the late 1850s and 1880s and range from oil sketches to finished paintings. Albert Bierstadt in New York & New England is the 10^th annual presentation of 19^th century landscape paintings at the Thomas Cole site.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site, which is also known as Cedar Grove, is comprised of the home and studios of Thomas Cole (1801-1848), the founder of the Hudson River School of painting. A National Historic Landmark, the site aims to communicate Cole’s profound influence on American art to a broader modern audience.

Albert Bierstadt in New York & New England is on view through November 3, 2013.

Historic Hudson Valley, a museum of historic sites, possesses a strong American fine arts collection. Particularly notable are its portraits of New Yorkers, their kinfolk, and their associates dating from the colonial and early national periods. These canvases by John Wollaston, Gilbert Stuart, and other artists have a direct or a thematic connection to four of Historic Hudson Valley’s sites: Philipsburg Manor, Van Cortlandt Manor, Sunnyside, and Montgomery Place. While significant in their own right, these works also contribute to the authenticity and completeness of Historic Hudson Valley’s properties and their interiors. Some have hung in these properties for one or even two centuries.