Paintings from the Hudson River School

March 13 - June 27, 1999

Bask in the tranquility of works from America's first national school of landscape painting with "All that is Glorious Around Us: Paintings from the Hudson River School", on view at the Worcester Art Museum from March 13- June 27, 1999. The exhibition showcases approximately 75 paintings by leading and lesser-known Hudson River School painters. The majority of the works are from a private collector, eight works are from the Worcester Art Museum's permanent collection, and a small group of tourist prints are from the American Antiquarian Society.

Hudson River School painters helped create romantic reflections on America's virgin landscape before and during the country's transformation in the 19th- century. Land was part of the national consciousness at the time and was considered an inherent part of democracy, wealth, and God's provision. Hudson River School painters captured this sentiment by painting dramatic landscape scenes that revealed both the tranquility and turmoil settlers could experience as they braved territory in the new world.

As the country became more industrialized, Americans yearned for idyllic illustrations of landscape scenery. They wanted images of the land itself, the Native Americans who dwelt on it, and the adventurous people who settled it. Wealthy merchants, bankers, and factory owners sought landscape paintings as an antidote to the harsh business world. "Armchair travelers" desired paintings of the nation's unsettled western frontiers, which they might never see. And resort owners and their guests wanted paintings of scenes that represented places of rest and leisure. Hudson River School artists accommodated all of these needs by painting panoramic, sweeping vistas with glorious sunsets, many-hued cloud formations, gracefully bowed trees, and majestic mountains that provided a welcome sanctuary from the ills of industrialization.

Organized by the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, this exhibition will also travel to the National Academy in New York from July 14 through September 12, 1999. Related events at the Worcester Art Museum will include a Family Day on April 11, 1999, and a lecture series.

Major Exhibition Support is provided by Fallon Healthcare System.

Additional generous support is provided by Flagship Bank and Trust Company, Members' Council, Telegram & Gazette, Greater Media Cable, WSRS/WTAG Radio, Michie Family Curatorial Fund, and the Britta Jeppson Curatorial Fund.