American Art--Landscapes

I began a new art class through the Smithsonian Associates today.  It should be very interesting.  The first session was on landscapes....primarily the Hudson River Valley School.  I would like to have seen a broader approach, but the time frame is pretty tight.  The class lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes.  It seemed to me like she could have covered a lot more than she did.  Evidently, I was was not the only one disappointed.  I got a message this morning that her presentation was not up to Smithsonian Associate standards and another instructor will be in charge for the next three sessions.  There is also a tour at the American Art Gallery and it will also be the new instructor.  I just found it amazing that they acted so quickly.

I still did learn from the class.  The painting above is by Thomas Cole and is commonly known as "The Oxbow."  It is a a post-thunderstorm view of Mount Holyoke in Northampton Massachusetts.  It is classic because it shows the American landscape painters were interested in the wildness of the American landscape and also concerned with the impending settlement and loss of that wildness.  This painting, completed in 1836, shows both.  It is also interesting to juxtapose the damage to the tree at the left front with the damage by clear-cutting in the valley view.  The storminess on the left with the relative calm on the right also is interesting....not to mention, of course, the interesting configuration of the river flow.  The original is on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

We did also learn about Alfred Beirstadt, and his "monumental" work.  However, the instructor was wrong about how he funded his work.  She said he had patrons, but a guy sitting by me pointed out that he primarily held exhibitions and charged entrance.  He encouraged people to use magnifying glasses to look at the work and generated a lot of interest in landscapes and in the West.  The instructor conceded that was true.  I will be interested in how many are in the second class.  The first class had about 60.

There are three more classes, but we have to cover all of American Art....so I am not too optimistic that there will be more on landscapes, but I will continue to explore it on my own.  I love the California impressionists and also am a fan of Wayne Thiebaud's San Francisco views.  Thiebaud is known for cakes, but I love his landscapes.  Here's some Thiebaud "eye candy" but not cakes.

Wayne Thiebaud Ripley Street Ridge

This painting sold for over 1 million dollars in 2009!

I am not sure, but I think this image is reversed from the original.  More research needed for that.  I think I have seen it at the National Gallery of Art earlier this year.  Always more research needed!