Hudson River School artists at Everhart Museum

Scranton - Three generations of artists and over 100 paintings will be on view when the Everhart Museum presents “American Scenery: Different Views in Hudson River School Painting.” This is a traveling exhibition organized by the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg. The exhibit opens to the public beginning May 4 and will continue on display through Sept. 2. The Hudson River School, considered by many to be the first truly American school of painting, flourished between 1825 and 1875. The movement was embraced by three generations of artists who shared common principles uniting them as a school despite their individual differences in style. Primary among these was a belief in natural religion, a deep admiration for the magnificence of nature, and a keen interest in the direct observation of nature. Most importantly, however, was awareness of the fresh, untamed American scenery as reflective of the optimism and independence and character of a young nation. American Scenery: Different Views in Hudson River School Painting features the work of key figures in the movement: Albert Bierstadt, Frederick Edwin Church, Thomas Cole, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Asher B. Durand, as well as women members Laura Woodward and Edith Wilkinson Cook and other accomplished but lesser known artists. The exhibit studies landscape painting by illuminating the practice of Hudson River School artists of creating pairs, series, and groupings of paintings that were thematically related and intended to be viewed together. According to Judith Hansen O’Toole, curator for the traveling exhibit and director of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, “... the idea (for the exhibition) was to bring together paintings that captured the natural effects expressed through the vast landscape of America, thereby recalling the underlying spiritual, philosophical, and nationalistic significance of the land, which was fundamental to and universally understood by this group of nineteenth-century artists.” While at the Everhart, American Scenery will be complemented by selections from the museum’s own collection, including works by Thomas Cole, Herman Herzog, John Frederick Kensett, and William Trost Richards. The Everhart’s executive director, Cara A. Sutherland, notes that the pieces owned by the Everhart are a wonderful adjunct to the exhibit. “Visitors to the American Scenery are encouraged to explore the Everhart’s permanent galleries and discover our treasures from the Hudson River School genre. Although the exhibit is only in Scranton for a brief sojourn, our patrons will continue to have the good fortune of experiencing this truly American school of art whenever they enter our doors,” she said. American Scenery is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by Columbia University Press and includes essays, an exhibition checklist and descriptions of each pairing and grouping of paintings. The Everhart Museum is located in Nay Aug Park in Scranton. For more information on the museum visit the Web site at www.everhart-museum.org or call 570-346-7186.