The American sublime: Jaded art world gasps in amazement at American Christian landscape painters

WORLD ^ | 10/26/02 | Gene Edward Veith

[TEXASPROUD]

I love going to the Amon Carter museum of Western Art. Remington and Russell captured the everyday work of the cowboy and soldier, but Bierstadt captured the magnificance of the Yellowstone and other areas of the west.

[JudyB1938]

A couple of examples ...

[blam]

Fascinating!

[Cicero]

Thomas Cole. "A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountains (Crawford Notch)."

[Paul Atreides]

Though popular in their time on both sides of the Atlantic, the Hudson River artists fell out of favor in the 20th century, the age of abstract expressionism and pop art.

Ah yes, those wonderful movements that helped to usher in the current era of anti-Christian schlock.

[LibKill]

More pics, please, pretty please with a cherry on top!

[secretagent]

Thanks.

I have confidence that these artists could produce modern non-representational art if they chose, but not the reverse.

[grammymoon]

Church had a wonderful home on a mountaintop overlooking the Hudson Valley.

It is still there and is a beautiful tourist attraction.
The home is moorish style and it was built so that EVERY window has a view similar to his landscape paintings. He landscaped the mountain to accomplish this.
It is called "Olana" our home on high.

There are tours of the house and the view from the rear verandah is just amazingly lovely.

It is on the RT 9 side of the Catskill bridge about 130 miles from NYC, near Hudson, NY

I have been there many times because my grandparents lived in the area.

It also has fantastic gardens and walking trails.

It is as close to heaven on earth as could be.

[Richard Kimball]

Bumpity bump bump.

Excellent works, and we only see a glimpse of their beauty in these small reproductions. Although I do quite a bit of photography and was a fine arts major in college, both I, and many others of my age, are totally alienated from the current world of "fine art", which is a combination of political feminism, homoeroticism and circus side show.

[irv]

Wow! I set the top one as my wallpaper.

[MissAmericanPie]

I love Remington also, but the best Western Art I have ever seen in my life was painted by a Chez, and I don't even remember his name.

He would sqeeze a tube of color right on the canvas, I couldn't stop looking at them. In one large painting, a night scene, he had painted a closeup of a herd of soaking wet wild horses caught in a lightening flash, talk about spectacular.

Another of his paintings was of a pioneer woman with her back to the viewer, rocking her sleeping baby in front of a
fireplace. The way he played the firelight along their profiles was staggering.

I love this medium and try my own hand at it now and again along with multi layered stained glass. I never have enough time to devote to it like I would love to.

[LibKill]

The pics in posts #3 and #5 are really good.

That is art.

If anyone else has some examples, please post.

[irv]

I, and many others of my age, are totally alienated from the current world of "fine art", which is a combination of political feminism, homoeroticism and circus side show.

I used to know a fine painter. He showed me a portfolio of work he had done when he was young, all with a similar theme. It struck me as being highly creative, sometimes ingenious, sometimes funny, and extremely well executed.

A couple years ago he decided to revisit that same theme anew. This time he wanted it to have "meaning." The meaning seemed to be that the purpose of life is to have sex, especially homosexual sex (though he was straight), and modern American society is completely oppressive and evil.

Not only was the stuff not the least bit creative any more, some of it was quite vulgar. The execution wasn't what it used to be either. I didn't have the heart to tell him that his excitement and pride in these new works was misplaced.

It probably sells like hotcakes, though.

[secretagent]

I don't care about the politics as much as I do the lack of evident skill. Frieda Kahlo had some skill, despite her communism. Same for early Picasso.

I don't know much at all about art, though, so I can't say if I'd reject all of the modern, non-representational stuff.

Tell me if you respect any modern artists. Looking for leads.

[SuziQ]

Just lovely. The word that comes to mind when I see any of these paintings is 'luminous'! The way light and shadows are depicted is just stunning!

[Revolting cat!]

I must admit I find some of these paintings overly dramatic, on the border of being kincaidish kitsch. Personal preference - I prefer understatement in my art. Don't jump up yet - this past summer I searched and searched for a good art album to take to Europe as a gift, before finding an album of Hudson River School paintings. The recipient, a man of impeccable taste, absolutely loved it.

[AnAmericanMother]

Here ya go:

My favorite of the Hudson River School is probably Asher Durand, I love his charcoal sketches the best, he was a man who could take a quick impression. Here's a self-portrait:

Here are Mr. Durand and Mr. Cole on a promontory, in a self-portrait-with-landscape titled "Kindred Spirits":

Here is a lovely painting of Niagara by Albert Bierstadt, another of the HRS, although sometimes considered a member of the "Rocky Mountain School".

Another Durand, just because I like him:

[RudeJude]

A Big Bump!
Thanks!

[LibKill]

Many thanks, M'am.

For some unknown reason, I really love great landscapes.