Hudson River School Works In New Britain

NEW BRITAIN, CONN.

:A remarkable collection of Hudson River School paintings assembled by Henry and Sharon Martin of Litchfield County, Conn., is on view through September 25 at the New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA). The exhibition includes works by such well-known artists as Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, Jasper Cropsey, Frederic Edwin Church, Sanford Robinson Gifford, John Frederick Kensett and Martin Johnson Heade.

"For Spacious Skies: Hudson River School Paintings from the Henry and Sharon Martin Collection" presents 16 paintings by Hudson River School artists who are well-known for recording American scen-ery, capturing its shifting seasonal light and changing climatic conditions with honesty and vitality.

Hudson River School paintings "resound with ambition, manifest moral character and reflect brilliant optimism - qualities all abundant in the Martins' excellent collection," said NBMAA director Douglas Hyland.

The Martin collection focuses on the Luminist phase of the Hudson River School practiced principally during the 1850s-70s. During this era, landscape painters created panoramic views noteworthy for their manipulation of natural light, creating majestic skies and sweeping vistas.

"Their effect on the viewer is pure joy," Hyland noted.

The NBMAA exhibition is curated by Kevin Sharp, director of visual arts at Cedarhurst Cen-ter for the Arts in Mount Vernon, Ill., who is also author of the catalog bearing the same title as the exhibition. The catalog features an introduction by John Wilmerding, Christopher Binyon Sarofim '86 Professor in American Art, professor of art and archeology, Princeton University.

The Martins began collecting fine art 25 years ago, with an emphasis on smaller works painted di-rectly from nature. These smaller Hudson River School works offer "a special freshness of vision, an energy of execution and immediacy of effect" whereas the larger canvases tended to be completed in the studio as exhibition pieces, said Wilmerding, a nationally known scholar of American landscape paint-ings.

On Tuesday, August 9, Elliot Bostwick Davis, John Moors Cabot Chair, Art of the Americas at the Museum of Fine Arts, will speak on a topic related to the exhibition. On Wednesday, August 17, Peter Rathbone, senior vice president and director American paintings and sculpture, Sotheby's New York, will speak on "The Evolution of the American Painting Market Over the Last 30 Years." And on Thurs-day, September 15, Wilmerding will speak on "Life and Death in American Landscape Painting."

The programs will begin with refreshments from 5:30 to 6 pm, followed by the lectures from 6 to 7 pm. The August 9 and September 15 lectures are $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers. Checks should be made payable to the New Britain Museum of American Art, indicating which lecture(s) one would like to attend. The August 17 lecture is free with museum admission; no reservations are required. The September 15 lecture will be presented at The Stanley Works World Headquarters, 1000 Stanley Drive, New Britain. All other lectures will take place at the museum.

The New Britain Museum of American Art is at 56 Lexington Street. For information, 860-229-0257, extension 24, or www.nbmaa.org.