The Brewing Storm: The Use of Storms in 19th c. American Art

The 19th century was a huge part of American history. She experienced in this time great economic expansion in early years. But mid-way through the century the Civil War brought significant social change. Over half a million lives were taken by this war. In the years that followed the war, the country quickly bounced back, working hard to mend the land and society devastated by the war. The United States quickly became a competing factor in the world economy again.

This exhibit demonstrates how different American artist in the 19th century depict storms in painting, and going deeper it explores how the artists used storms in their pieces. The artists of this century were affected by many different influences. As stated, history of the country during this century was very dramatic. In the years prior to the war, many Americans moved west “civilizing” the land and people in the spirit of Manifest Destiny. Many artists were directly influenced by the war and reconstruction after. It is interesting to look at how artists in America depicted storms both before and after the war. Several artists of the time, who typically painted in a naturalistic manner, found interest in storms. Some depicted storms in full fury while others focused on a scene just after a storm has blown through. It is interesting to explore the art of these painters who have been impacted by the events of 19th century America.

Thomas Cole, View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, 1836, Oil on Canvas, The MET 08.228

            Thomas Cole was an artist who was born at the turn of the century. In 1818 at the age of 17, his family moved to the United States of America. Coming to this new land, Cole experienced a young nation in full swing of economic development. She was expanding westward claiming new land for agricultural development. This composition depicts a scene of confrontation between nature and man. Moving across the canvas from left to right, the storm and the wilderness is being pushed back by cultivated farm fields of man.

Thomas Cole , Views Across Frenchman's Bay from Mt. Desert Island, After a Squall, 1845, Oil on Canvas, Cincinnati Art Museum 

            Cole, known as the founder of the Hudson River School, painted in a style known as romanticism. This style focused on the nature and was known for its landscapes. In this piece, Cole creates a landscape of the sea. Here, Cole uses a storm just as it passed to capture the beauty. There is a sense of calm just after the storm. A boat is finally able to sail in peace. The eagle can rest and dry his wings.

Frederic Edwin Church, Storm in the Mountain, 1847, Public Domain

            Church was a pupil of Thomas Cole at the Hudson River School. Among the things he was known for, was his interest in the phenomenal of nature. In this piece the storm is in full force. A splintered tree at the fore front of the image attests to the power of the storm. The clouds sweep up the mountain and across the sky. Church focuses on the storm itself and its active interaction with the landscape.

Winslow Homer, The Gulf Stream, Oil on Canvas, The MET 06.1234

            Winslow Homer painted through the entirety of the 19th century. He was directly impacted by the war as he was commissioned to follow troops and sketch and paint the lives of the soldiers. Homer painted the Gulf Stream at the end of the century. In this piece the landscape is very turbulent, a storm rages about with two ominous cyclones in the distance. The sense of calmness is not with another part of the scenery but with the man depicted on the boat.

Winslow Homer, Early Morning after a Storm at Sea, 1900-02, Oil on Canvas, In the Cleveland Museum of Art

            Many of Homers painting involved the sea. As in the Gulf Stream, Homer depicts the sea as dynamic and alive with presence of a storm. But in this piece, other than the crash of a wave on the jagged rocks in the fore ground, the sea is smooth. At this point the storm has passed completely. The sea rests. But presence of the storm is not completely forgotten. The wave crashing on the rocks is reminiscent of the storm from the night before.