Along the Hudson: The Hudson River School and top places to see the paintings

by Jamie Rhein on

Four hundred years ago, when Henry Hudson first saw the river that was named after him, I imagine he felt inspired by its beauty. The river not only captivated Hudson’s attention motivating him to take a look-see far up into its reaches, it has also inspired artists to capture its essence, literally and figuratively.

There are places along the Hudson River’s shores where you can imagine painters who developed The Hudson River School sitting with their canvas creating their masterpieces. Unlike how it sounds, The Hudson River School is not a place at all, but an art movement that occurred during the 19th century, and the first to be deemed American.

With the festivities happening in the towns and cities along the Hudson this year to celebrate it’s discovery, it seems fitting to give a nod to these artists who were inspired by the Hudson’s beauty and used its images as a metaphor to express ideas about what the United States represents. What are the themes? Discovery, exploration and settlement. Head west, and you’ll see these themes over and over again. These guys were onto something.

The scenes you see in the paintings, however, are not exactly as is. The artists took parts of scenery that they had sketched in their travels and put them together in such a way to make their point that nature, and people’s communion with it, are testaments to God’s glory. Communing with nature, therefore, is a way to experience God’s power.

The painting Kindred Spirits by Asher B. Durand is such an example. The two men in the painting are of the artist and Thomas Cole. You can read what the painting represented to Cole in this overview of The Hudson River School by Thomas Hampson.

As Hampson explains, such themes are also expressed in the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau who helped found Transcendentalism. To them, and to these artists, what better place to be a witness to the power of God and the human ability to feel and become empowered by it, than in the natural world found in the the American landscape?

Not only the Hudson River is depicted by Hudson River School artists, most notably Thomas Cole and Asher B. Durand, but so are the White Mountains in New Hampshire and other areas of the Catskills.

For a close look at one of the later Hudson River School painters who helped develop the art movement called Luminism that developed from the Hudson River School, visit Olana, Frederic Edwin Church’s home along the Hudson River not far from Hudson, New York.

Here, Church and his wife raised their family and created a home that is a visual masterpiece. When I visited Olana, I was intrigued by Church’s treatment of the landscape. He had certain trees cut down along the river banks near his home to create a certain look to the scenery and better highlight the Hudson River’s beauty.

Olana is merely one place to see Hudson River School artwork. Several museums have pieces in their collections.

If you are walking in the mountains and along the river that were the inspiration for this artwork, see if the muse strikes you. Maybe another art movement is percolating.

Francis Bacon comes to New York’s Met

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you missed the Francis Bacon exhibit at the Museo Del Prado in Madrid back in the early part of the year, you have a second chance this summer. The reclusive artist, who produced only around 1,000 paintings in his 83-year life, is well represented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, with a large show that traces the artist’s career from a false start in 1933 through his twilight in the 1980s.

The collection is, to say the least, extensive. Each room highlights a period in Bacon’s life, from his haunting work in the 1940s to the “man in a cage” theme that followed. The exhibit also tracks Bacon’s love life, with paintings of George Dyer and John Edwards, for example, in abundance. Surprisingly, the breadth of the New York show is even greater than that of Madrid.

The true success of this show, however, is in the targeted success the Metropolitan Museum of Art realized in securing related paintings. Several of Bacon’s interpretations of Velazquez’s Pope Innocent X work can be viewed side-by-side – a rare treat for Bacon fiends and art lovers in general.

If you can’t make it to Manhattan this summer, don’t worry. The Bacon centennial celebration will continue later this year at the Tate in London.

Undiscovered New York: lesser-known museums

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Undiscovered New York loves our museums. Who hasn’t come to the Museum of Modern Art and spent hours gazing at works like Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon? Or visited the the Met on a warm evening at dusk to take in one of New York’s best views from the rooftop sculpture garden? Or gazed in awe at the massive lifesize Blue Whale at the American Museum of Natural History?

But the truth is that whether you live here or you’re coming from out of town, a trip to New York’s “must see” museums can get old quickly. Don’t get me wrong – if you’ve never seen the Musuem of Modern Art or the Met, by all means go. But at the same time, the ridiculous weekend crowds and steep admission fees can conspire to spoil that ideal New York museum visit, especially at some of New York’s biggest and most popular spots. What’s a museum-loving visitor to do?

Lucky for you, New York is absolutely jam packed with amazing museums, covering just about any culture, subject, genre of art or period of history imaginable. Best of all, many of these museums are extremely cheap or free and you’ll avoid huge crowds and long waits that can spoil a visit at some of New York’s “biggies.” Want to have an awesome New York museum experience without all the fuss? Step inside Undiscovered New York’s favorite lesser-known New York museums, after the jump.
City Reliquary
On the outskirts of Brooklyn’s trendy Wiliamsburg neighborhood, sandwiched along a row of unassuming storefronts and steps from the noisy BQE Expressway lies one of the more unique museum collections in all of New York. It’s called the City Reliquary, and it’s a less a formal museum than a testament to the maniacal habits of obsessive-compulsive New Yorkers.

Rather than focus on collection curated by some academic “expert,” the City Reliquary started as a repository for the collections of ordinary New Yorkers ranging from “vintage thermoses” to Presidential Plates and antique pens. The organization supplements these resident collections with displays of interesting New York paraphenalia including architectural remnants of New York City buildings and Statue of Liberty mementos. It’s a small but often fun antidote to the stuffy, more established museums across the river in Manhattan. As another plus, the admission is “pay what you wish.”

Rubin Museum of Art
The Met has an amazing collection of artwork from the Far East – enough to put most major museums to shame. But there’s so much to see it get a bit overwhelming at times. That’s why a museum like Chelsea’s Rubin Museum of Art can be a great alternative for easily distracted visitors. Rather than try to cover a huge range of countries and cultures in Asia, the Rubin Museum focuses exclusively on Himalayas and surrounding regions on several manageable floors. It’s a decidedly more leisurely, manageable and less crowded way to check out some amazing culture in a cool setting.

Museum of Sex
We mentioned the the Museum of Sex this past Valentine’s Day, and it honestly deserves another mention here. OK, yes, I know – it’s a museum about sex. But before you break into nervous giggles and write it off as some place for perverts, did you ever think to consider it might be an interesting museum? The answer is a definite YES. In all honesty, the scope of the Museum of Sex goes well beyond celebrating flesh to take a deeper look at human sexuality. Honest-to-goodness academic questions are asked through exhibits about censorship, obscenity laws and the changing morals of different societies through the years. And yes, of course, there are images of some naked people here and there (shocking isn’t it?).

Celebrate the Francis Bacon centennial, starting in Madrid

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Reclusive, crazy and not as prolific as most other artists, Francis Bacon produced only around 1,000 paintings before his death. Around the world, his pieces appear one or two at a time, but few have the resources or reason to assemble a large retrospective. This year, that changes.

One hundred years ago, Francis Bacon was born. For his centennial, exhibitions are rumored to be planned at London’s Tate and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. But, I was surprised to see a large sign as I walked along the Paseo del Prado last week: Francis Bacon. Until April 19, 2009, you’ll be able to witness the progression of this genius’s work over four decades, with a collection of unusual breadth and depth (take a closer look here).

This is an interesting time for Francis Bacon. Last year, his work was among the hottest in the world, with Russian energy figure Roman Abramovich dropping $86.3 million on a triptych painted in 1976. Not even a full year later, the art market is in turmoil, and the auction houses are unable to move Bacon’s work, it seems, at any price. It feels like a sad undercurrent to what should be a year of celebration, but New York artist Nelson Diaz disagrees.
Diaz appears to be downright prophetic, having protested the art market’s ascent with a political statement via eBay last summer. At the time, he explained that Bacon would have been disgusted with the high prices that his work fetched. Nelson’s protest is over, but it does make rich background for what should be a year of Francis Bacon retrospectives around the world.

In the video below, Nelson explains last summer’s project and its connection to Francis Bacon. If you’re looking to the future, his latest project is “The Isolated Christ.”

Whether you stop by the Tate, Met or Museo del Prado to enjoy the Francis Bacon centennial, keep this back-story in mind. It changes everything you’ll see.

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Catcher in the Rye inspired Holden Caufield tour of New York City

by Jamie Rhein on

The 10th most popular book in the United States is Catcher in the Rye. Way to go Holden! Although Holden roamed the streets of New York City at Christmas time in the early 1950s, you can take in what he did even in warmer weather. Holden Caufield’s version of NYC is certainly cheaper than the Sex in the City tour that Iva wrote about. That one costs $24,000.

Here’s my suggestion for a Holden Caufield inspired itinerary with costs included. I’m providing the adult rates. The itinerary is based on the places Holden went. Each are mentioned in the novel. I’ve thrown in the cost of a day MetroCard along with the subway and bus stops to make your gadabout easier. If you start early in the morning and don’t dawdle, you should be able to hit all stops–although this is if you only see highlights at the two museums. Each of them could take several hours. Take a copy of the novel with you so you can see what Holden saw and compare notes. There will be an essay afterwards.

Start here– Grand Central Station –free. Subways: # 4, 5, 6, 7, and S. From here walk to Rockefeller Center by heading to 5th Avenue and turning right. It’s a piece of cake.

Rockefeller Center –free, unless you go ice-skating. Ice-skating goes on through April 13th. For adults, $10–weekdays or $14–weekends. Skate rental, $8. Subways: F-D-B-Q. There are others that will get you close, but you’ll have to walk a little. Nearby is Radio City Music Hall where Holden saw the Rockettes. You’ll have to wait until their Christmas Spectacular Show to see them. Presale tickets are available.

To take the #1, which will get you to the American Museum of Natural History, the next tour stop, walk a few blocks to 50th and Broadway.

American Museum of Natural History –It can be free, however, there is a suggested admission of $15 for adults. You have to go through the line to pay what you want in order to get a ticket. Subway directions: Take B (weekdays only) or C to 81 Street or #1 to Broadway and West 79th Street.

Central Park Carousel -$2.00. The carousel and the Central Park Zoo trip fits between the two museum visits. The carousel reopens after the winter months in April. Although, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is directly across the park from the American Museum of Natural History, I’d go to the carousel and zoo for a change of pace and to enjoy some spring flowers. Here’s a link to a teeny tiny map so you can see what I’m talking about. You can take a bus M7 to Central Park South and enter the park at 6th Avenue. Grab a soft pretzel with a dollop of mustard. If you’re lucky you can find a knish. Oh, I love those things.

Central Park Zoo – $8.00 (for adults) To get to the zoo from the carousel, keep walking across the park towards Fifth Avenue. You’ll pass by the Dairy Barn along the way.

Metropolitan Museum of Art—free, except there is a suggested donation of $20 for adults. You can walk here from the zoo, if you like to walk several blocks, or walk to Madison Ave. and take the M1, M2, M3, or M4 up to 83rd Street. On Fridays and Saturdays, the museum is open until 9 PM so you’ll have time to not hurry so much–plus there’s music.

Here’s an article that can work as a cheat sheet to show you what Holden saw at these places. You won’t be able to take in the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. For that, come back during the winter holidays.

Admission costs if you pay the full amount at the museums—55 + MetroCard for unlimited day use–$7 = Total $ $62.