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The introduction to this series, about the Wadsworth family and the Wadsworth Atheneum, is here. For all posts in the series, click here.

This week we continue with Hudson River School paintings, in chronological order. Reminder: these are the artworks at the Wadsworth that caught my eye, and that I have decent photos of (or could find photos online). The Wadsworth has many, many more works.

Home in the Wilderness: Crocker, 1853

There’s a somewhat better image here (watermarked).

Crocker (1822-1907), a Connecticut native, was very influenced by Thomas Cole and painted many of the subjects beloved of Hudson River School artists. In this work he shows the land being tamed, rather than the vast American wilderness. According to this site,

Crocker’s powers of observation in portraiture and landscape painting, as well as in researching materials and techniques for developing ‘modern’ goods, make him a clear product of the industrial revolution. A realization that industrialization would make a permanent mark on Norwich [Crocker’s birthplace, in Connecticut] might have prompted him to record, and thus preserve, his family, fellow Norwichians, and the city’s agrarian environs on canvas.”

The same site notes that in addition to painting, Crocker had income from “Crocker’s Magical Stomach Powders,” which purported to be “a sure cure for Indigestion and all Bowel Difficulties and Colds.”

Zenobia in Chains: Hosmer, 1859

Just a reminder: although the Hudson River School was popular among some American painters, many others continued to work in the Neoclassical style that had emerged in France during the late eighteenth century. Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, who studied in Rome, focused on sculpting women known for their strength and wisdom. Zenobia ruled Palmyra (Syria) from 267-272 AD. After the Romans captured her kingdom, she was led in chains through Rome. Hosmer said, “I have tried to make her too proud to exhibit passion or emotion of any kind; not subdued, though a prisoner; but calm, grand, and strong within herself.” For more on Hosmer, see here.

Hosmer sold the original and several copies of Zenobia, which differed only in the belt buckles. There are versions at the Huntington Library and the St. Louis Art Museum.

Sunrise off the Maine Coast: Church, 1863

Here it is with its frame.

Church traveled to the Maine coast at least seven times in the 1850s and 1860s. This painting, based on an oil sketch done on site, is one of his best seascapes. Mount Desert Island, home of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, is about as far north and east as you can get on the coast of Maine – which means, as far north and east as you can get on the eastern seaboard of the United States. The Wadsworth label notes that Church and his fellow landscape painters helped popularize natural wonders such as MDI as a goal for vacationers. The Wadsworth site includes an excellent PDF on this work and its context, and on Church.

After Thomas Cole’s death in 1848, Church became the leading figure in the Hudson River School. By 1860, he was the leading painter in the United States. Inspired by the work of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), Church traveled to South America in 1853 and 1857. He became the first American to paint that region, using detailed sketches from his trip. Church’s most famous works are huge canvases showing South America, for example, Heart of the Andes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When it was put on view in New York City in 1859, twelve or thirteen thousand people paid 25 cents each to view it. Church died a wealthy man.

Winding River, Sunset: Heade, ca. 1863

Sunset on a salt marsh. Unfortunately the photo doesn’t capture the charm of the painting. The photo is a bit too yellowish, as well, but I don’t generally edit for color unless I’ve got the original in front of me, or a very strong memory of it.

Heade is one of the Luminists, who began as a subset of the Hudson River painters. They predate the Impressionists, and although they are also entranced with light, the Luminists – unlike the Impressionists – are meticulous about representing details.

In the Mountains: Bierstadt, 1867

Here it is with its frame.

Bierstadt (1830-1902) is famous for enormous, sweeping landscape views that glorified the potential of the American West. He painted them in his New York studio based on sketches made during trips West in 1859 and in 1863, when he spent seven weeks in the Yosemite Valley. This particular painting is a composite scene drawn from several locations in the West. For more, see here.

Bierstadt’s paintings were enormously popular: his fame was only rivaled by that of Frederic Edwin Church.

The Nooning: Homer, ca. 1872

“Nooning” is a midday rest period. Homer is famous for his marine paintings, but for twenty years at the beginning of his career (1850s-1870s) he was an illustrator. A black-and-white wood engraving of a similar work by Homer was published in Harper’s Weekly in August 1873.

Starting in 1875, Homer gave up illustration, devoting himself to oils and watercolors. Among the earliest and most famous of his works at this period was Breezing Up (A Fair Wind), 1873-1876 (National Gallery, Washington).

Next week: later works by Hudson River School artists, including Luminists.

Wadsworth posts on American art

When I visited the Wadsworth, visitors were sent through the galleries in reverse chronological order due to social distancing. If you’d rather read the posts in order (seventeenth through twentieth centuries), the sequence would be as follows. Part 1 is the introduction to the series.

• part 12: 16th to early 19th centuries, including Copley, Trumbull, and Earl
• part 2: late 18th c., including Copley and Earl

• part 3: early and mid-19th c., early Hudson River School, including Cole and Church
• part 11: mid-19th c., including the Colt legacy and the Charter Oak
• part 4: mid-19th c., including Church and Bierstadt
• part 6: late 19th c. painting and sculpture, including Church, Remington, and Bierstadt
• part 5: late 19th c. painting, including Church and Heade
• part 9: late 19th and early 20th c. painting and sculpture
• part 10: late 19th and early 20th c. sculpture, including MacMonnies and Frishmuth
• part 8: early and mid-20th c. painting and sculpture, including Andrew Wyeth
• Part 7: survey of images of Niagara Falls, from the 17th to 21st centuries, including Trumbull, Cole, Bierstadt, and Church.

More

• In Getting More Enjoyment from Sculpture You Love, I demonstrate a method for looking at sculptures in detail, in depth, and on your own. Learn to enjoy your favorite sculptures more, and find new favorites. Available on Amazon print and Kindle formats.
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