Monday, February 9, 2015

Adirondack Masterpieces At The Hyde Collection

Homer Dodge Martin (1836-1897), Mountain View on the Saranac, 1868If The Hyde Collection had ever hoped to mount an exhibition of the art of the Adirondacks, the result could not have been more comprehensive than the show that the Glens Falls museum is presenting through April 12th.

“Wild Nature: Masterworks from the Adirondack Museum,” as the title signifies, is composed solely of works within the permanent collection of the Adirondack Museum.

For those who have never visited the museum in Blue Mountain Lake, “Wild Nature” is an introduction both to master works of American art depicting the landscape of the Adirondacks and to the museum itself, which is closed in the off-season.

Jonas Lie (1880-1940), Main Camp, Kamp Kill Kare, 1930The show is composed of sixty-two works dating from 1821 to 2001, and includes photographs and prints as well as paintings.

Works of the 19th century Hudson River School, by painters such as Thomas Cole, Sanford Robinson Gifford, John Frederick Kensett, Homer Dodge Martin, and Williams Trost Richards, are featured prominently.

Harold Weston (1894-1972), Giant, 1922The show also includes works by 20th century artists such as Rockwell Kent, Harold Weston, John Marin, Jonas Lie, Dorothy Dehner and David Smith.

“The 19th century works reveal how images of the Adirondack landscape shaped American perceptions of the wilderness landscape, and how these expectations, in turn, created wilderness as a national icon,” stated the show’s curators, Erin Coe, formerly of The Hyde, Laura Rice, chief curator of the Adirondack Museum and Caroline Welsh, senior art historian and director emeritus.

The selection of works from the 20th century, they stated, “explores how themes of wilderness persist in the work of these modern artists while their abstract or realist approach, combined with their own personal expression, reflects changing attitudes toward the natural environment.”

Illustrations provided by the Adirondack Museum: Above, Homer Dodge Martin (1836-1897), Mountain View on the Saranac, 1868; middle, Jonas Lie (1880-1940), Main Camp, Kamp Kill Kare, 1930; and below, Harold Weston (1894-1972), Giant, 1922.

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Anthony F. Hall is the editor and publisher of the Lake George Mirror.

Anthony grew up in Warrensburg and after an education that included studying with beat poet Gregory Corso on an island in the Aegean, crewing a schooner in Hawaii, traveling through Greece and Turkey studying Byzantine art and archeology, and a stint at Lehman Brothers, he returned to the Adirondacks and took a job with legendary state senator Ron Stafford.

In 1998, Anthony and his wife Lisa acquired the Lake George Mirror, once part of a chain of weekly newspapers owned by his father Rob Hall.

Established in the 1880s, the Mirror is America’s oldest resort newspaper.





4 Responses

  1. gene porter says:

    It would be helpful if this post prominantly included the location and hours of the Glens Falls Museum. Not all Adk aficionados live in Warrensburg or Lake George.

  2. Tony Hall says:

    The Hyde Collection is an art museum complex and historic house consisting of a distinguished collection of works by American and European artists such as Botticelli, Rubens, Rembrandt, Picasso, Homer and Eakins, as well as important decorative arts and antique furnishings. The collection continues to grow through gift and purchase, and today it numbers around 3,300 works with an emphasis on the art of the twentieth century. The Museum provides changing exhibitions in two gallery spaces, lectures, concerts, family activities and school programming. For detailed information visit http://www.hydecollection.org or call 518-792-1761.

  3. william Deuel,Jr says:

    Tony,

    Thank you for making us all aware of the masterworks being displayed at the Hyde museum. I for one can not wait to see it.

  4. At the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls: Wild Nature: Masterworks from the Adirondack Museum » Upper Saranac Lake Association says:

    […] Read Article […]

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