Hudson River School · Women in the Arts

Susie M. Barstow – Redefining the Hudson River School

Nancy Siegel's Susie M. Barstow: Redefining the Hudson River School (Lund Humphries, 2023) is the first-ever biography of Susie M. Barstow, a greatly under-rated Hudson River School artist, teacher, and adventurer. I really enjoyed reading about Barstow's adventurous life and beautiful art.

American Art · Exhibitions · Women in the Arts

Alexander von Humboldt and the United States – A Video Tour and an Interview

After enjoying a video tour of Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature and Culture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, I spoke to the show's curator, Dr. Eleanor Harvey Jones about Alexander von Humboldt and his vast impact on American art.

Museums

Highlights at the Wadsworth Athenaeum

The Wadsworth Athenaeum, in Hartford, CT, is one of America's oldest art museums. It was founded by Daniel Wadsworth in 1842. However, it has been expanded several times since them. The museum has a little bit of everything, from paintings to porcelain, ancient Egyptian to contemporary European. It's a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon.

Art That Inspires Me · Hudson River School

Art That Inspires Me: Thomas Cole

I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that Thomas Cole's work is on my list of art that inspires me. To talk about why I love Cole's work in general, I would probably have to write a whole book, so I'm going to focus on one particular painting that I recently saw for the first time. It's called A Snow Squall, and it was painted in 1825.

Museums

Art at Vassar: The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center

The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center is a small art museum on the campus of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. The museum contains a little bit of everything, but its claim to fame is probably its many Hudson River School paintings. The rest of the collection ranges from ancient to contemporary works in small quantities.