Museum PR Announcements News and Information

Blanton Museum of Art opens American Scenery. Different Views of Hudson River School Painting

The Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin presents American Scenery: Different Views of Hudson River School Painting, an exhibition on view February 26 – May 13, 2012.


John William Casilear (1811-1893), Niagara Falls, 1872, oil on canvas

The exhibition fesatures paintings from the Hudson River School, a loose collective of artists working in upstate New York from 1825-1875, whose works comprised America’s first native artistic style. Artists included in the Hudson River School, and represented in The Blanton’s presentation, are Thomas Cole, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Sanford Robinson Gifford, Asher B. Durand, Frederic Edwin Church, John Frederick Kensett, and John William Casilear, among others. Assembled from a single private collection, this touring exhibition is organized by the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greenburg, Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1825 by Thomas Cole, the Hudson River School drew its inspiration from America’s landscape. Its artists shared a spiritual awe of nature and believed in the notion that the country’s untamed wilderness reflected aspects of its national character. American Scenery investigates the group’s shared aesthetic and philosophical principles and situates the paintings in the context of nineteenth-century American values. The exhibition’s unique point of view stresses the artist’s eye, pairing and grouping paintings that explore the visual characteristics of particular sites, or that examine the subtle changes that can be observed during varied seasons, times of day, and weather conditions. The exhibition will be on view in The Blanton’s Butler Family Foundation Gallery on the first floor, and will include a timeline and resource room for further exploration.

American Scenery serves as an eastern counterpart to the exhibition, Go West! Representations of The American Frontier, featuring works from The Blanton’s celebrated C.R. Smith Collection. Organized by The Blanton, it will be on view January 14 – September 23, 2012.

American Scenery: Different Views in Hudson River School Painting is organized and toured by the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA.

The Blanton Museum of Art is one of the foremost university art museums in the country and has the largest and most comprehensive collection of art in Central Texas. The museum welcomes and engages all visitors by offering extraordinary experiences that connect art and ideas. The Blanton’s permanent collection of more than 17,000 works is recognized for its European paintings, an encyclopedic collection of prints and drawings, and modern and contemporary American and Latin American art.

Located at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Congress Avenue, the museum is across the street from the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and is adjacent to downtown Austin. The museum is open Tuesday – Friday from 10-5, Saturday 11-5, and Sunday from 1-5. Thursday is free admission day and the museum is open until 9 PM on the Third Thursday of each month. Admission is free to members, all current UT ID-holders and children under 12, $9 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for college students with ID, and $5 for youth (13-25). For information call (512) 471-7324 or visit www.blantonmuseum.org

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *