May 15–September 5, 2010
The Frick Art Museum
Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904), Jersey Meadows with a Fisherman, 1877. Oil on canvas. 13 5/8 x 26 1/2 inches. Collection of the Newark Museum; Purchase 1946 Sophronia Anderson Bequest Fund 46.156.
Nearly 20 American artists spanning the Hudson River School to American Impressionism are represented in these small-scale paintings from the superb collection of the Newark Museum.
Beginning with the Hudson River School in the 1820s, landscape served as a vehicle for expressing national identity and pride in the wonders of the land. Artists such as Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902), Asher B. Durand (1796–1886), and Jasper Cropsey (1823–1900) were intent on creating distinctly American scenes.
Later, during the Civil War and in the years following, this ardent nationalism waned as French landscape painting and the Barbizon school influenced a younger generation of painters including George Inness (1825–1894), John Pope (1820–1881), and Mary Moran (1842–1899).
By the 1890s, Impressionism, with its broken brushstrokes and brilliant hues, became the avant-garde style in America.
Together, these small but sublime canvases provide an overview of the approaches to landscape in the second half of the 19th century and illustrate shifts in broader social attitudes towards nature and American identity.
Organization and Funding
Small but Sublime: Intimate 19th-Century American Landscapes was organized by the Newark Museum. The exhibition has received funding for conservation support from the Henry Luce Foundation and from the Newark Museum Volunteer Organization and from Barbara and Bill Weldon.
The Pittsburgh presentation is made possible through the generous support of the Allegheny Foundation. Additional funding has been provided by First National Bank.
Image credit
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Exhibition Programs
For more details and to register, call 412-371-0600.
Docent Tours
May 14–September 5
Wednesdays Saturdays and Sundays
2:00 p.m.
The Frick Art Museum
Docent-led tours of the exhibition Small But Sublime: Intimate 19th-Century American Landscapes are provided.
Free
Friday Features Gallery Talks
Fridays, May 14–September 3
2:00–2:15 p.m.
The Frick Art Museum
Meet in the galleries at 2:00 p.m. on Fridays for free, 15-minute gallery talks
led by members of the education and curatorial staffs. Each month features a different topic. Free
May: Artist as Scientist
June: Landscape and Spirituality
July: American Sublime
August and September: Serenity and Severity
Clayton Features
Thursdays, July 1–August 26
2:00 p.m.
Meet under Clayton's porte-cochère
Members of the education staff discuss Scalp Level (July) and Barbizon (August) schools of painting in Clayton during these 15-minute talks.
Free
Other Programs
Art at Noon
Nation and God, Science and Industry: Intersections and Contradictions in American Romantic Landscape Practice in the 19th Century
Wednesday, June 2
12:00 p.m.
Presented by Gretchen Bender, PhD, Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the History of Art and Architecture Department at the University of Pittsburgh.
Free
Adult Workshop: Plein-Air Painting
Friday, June 11
9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Advance registration and pre-payment required
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