Drawn primarily from the rich collections of The New York Historical, Transcendent: Landscapes of the Hudson River School explores nationally beloved paintings through the lens of Transcendentalism, a 19th-century movement that emphasized the spiritual connection between humans and the natural world. Emerging in the 1850s and reaching its apogee in the 1870s, the Hudson River School marked a high point in American landscape painting. The show examines the belief of period artists, writers, and theologians who viewed nature to be the primary locus of the divine. Though they do not overtly illustrate religious scenes or texts, Hudson River School paintings were created by deeply religious artists who understood their works to reflect their faith. Supplemented with key loans from public and private collections, Transcendent will introduce visitors to the tradition of landscape painting that flourished in the United States in the middle decades of the nineteenth century.
Study from Nature: Rocks and Trees, ca. 1856. Asher B. Durand. Oil on canvas. The New York Historical, gift of Mrs. Lucy Maria Durand Woodman, 1907.26.
Catskill Creek, New York, 1845. Thomas Cole. Oil on canvas. The New York Historical, The Robert L. Stuart Collection, the gift of his widow Mrs. Mary Stuart, S-157.
Donner Lake from the Summit, 1873. Albert Bierstadt. Oil on canvas. The New York Historical, gift of Archer Milton Huntington, 1909.16.
Hudson River Valley from Fort Putnam, West Point, 1855. George Henry Boughton. Oil on canvas. Tor New York Historical, gift of John V. Irwin and William F. Irwin, 1927.1.
Tree Study, Catskill Clove, New York, 1858. Thomas Hiram Hotchkiss. Oil on linen, mounted to cardboard. The New York Historical, gift of Miss Nora Durand Woodman, 1932.37.
Niagara: The American Falls, ca. 1821. Alvan Fisher. Oil on linen. The New York Historical, gift of Arthur A. Jones, 1948.25.
Landscape with River (Scene in Northern New York), 1849. Sanford Robinson Gifford. Oil on canvas. The New York Historical, gift of DeWitt M. Lockman, 1953.51.
Over the Hills and Far Away, ca. 1878. Jervis McEntee. Oil on canvas. The New York Historical, gift of Richard T. Sharp, 1985.23.
River Scene, Catskills, 1861. John Williams Casilear. Oil on canvas. The New York Historical, The Robert L. Stuart Collection, the gift of his widow Mrs. Mary Stuart, S-4.
Sunset, Lake George, New York, 1857. Jasper Francis Cropsey, Oil on canvas. The New York Historical, The Robert L. Stuart Collection, the gift of his widow Mrs. Mary Stuart, S-126.
