Where the Sky Meets Land: American Landscape Painting in the 1800s

The United States has a very unique topographical makeup with mountains, river valleys, open flatlands, and often a mixture of these as well as other features. During the 19^th century, as national pride and patriotism were soaring in America, people began to become increasingly aware of the natural beauty of America’s sweeping landscapes. In response to this realization, and sometimes in direct response to European criticism, American artists began to produce more landscapes that glorified the greatness of the American wilderness through naturalism and iconography. This exhibition is dedicated towards attempting to show how different artists chose to depict the different facets of the American landscape. By comparing what they did differently and what remained common throughout, it is possible to create a matrix of different themes that build the ideas behind American landscape painting. Despite them being located in different parts of the country, using different styles, different forms of paint, and being part of different artistic movements, there will be similar tropes and iconography that are worth noting dispersed throughout the works in the exhibit.

Thomas Cole, View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm, The Oxbow, 1836, Oil on canvas, 51 1/2 x 76 in. (130.8 x 193 cm), 08.228.

Thomas Cole was one of the most prolific American landscape artists of the 1800s. The mountains and river valley with a far out horizon and giant sky place an emphasis on the grand nature of the land. This painting was in the works for several years, and it is a direct response to Captain Basil Hall, who had criticized many aspects of American culture and art. Heavily contrasting the American wild with the ongoing march of civilization and the organization that comes with it, in the form of the thunderstorm and the mountain placed against the farms and buildings of the valley.

Alexander H. Wyant, Tennessee, 1866, Oil on canvas, 34 3/4 x 53 3/4 in. (88.3 x 136.5 cm), 13.53.

This painting mirrors much of the scenery and features of The Oxbow. Despite it being in a completely different part of America much of the landscape looks similar, and even the weather seems very similar. This painting pulls back and allows for more of the foreground to be seen with a flowing mountain stream, with details on the rocks, grass, and trees, and creating a more open feeling.

American Painter (possibly Henry Ary), The Hudson River Valley near Hudson, New York, 1850, Oil on canvas, 19 x 22 1/8 in. (48.3 x 56.2 cm), 1975.1.244.

This painting expands the horizon even further by removing the mountains in the distance and making the view less restricted. It continues the trope of placing the viewer on a high place looking over a body of water and surveying a large area of land with a very large sky dominating roughly half of the canvas. This painting also has much more distinct human presence, with people being not only in the distance but now expanding into the foreground.

John William Hill, The Palisades, ca. 1870, Watercolor and gouache on white wove paper, 9 5/8 x 16 1/8 in. (24.4 x 41 cm), 1993.528.

This painting has a very unique setting. The large cliffs across the water, the large building receding into the background on the right side adds a very concentrated presence of civilization. The clear lines between tree and field make it clear that the land has been dominated by man, and that the wild has been taken under control. The water and the sky melt into one another at the center of the painting, making the horizon seem even further away and pull the large scope of the landscape even wider.

Thomas Doughty, On the Hudson, 1830-1835, Oil on canvas, 4 3/4 x 21 1/2 in. (37.5 x 54.6 cm), 91.27.1.

This painting has descended from the mountains and cliffs and now dwells in the valley. Instead of looking down upon the world, the viewer now walks among the small hills and looks out onto, rather than down on a large body of water on which boats sail. It seems as if in painting this Thomas Doughty zoomed in, so that he could be closer to his subject, while still maintaining his distance enough to show the great size of the world around him.

Albert Bierstadt, The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, 1863, Oil on canvas, 73 1/2 x 120 3/4 in. (186.7 x 306.7 cm), 07.123.

This painting truly exemplifies the grandeur and size expressed by. American Nationalism. The angle of the painting has completely shifted for a different feeling. Rather than looking down on the world to see the landscape and view long distances, the angle is from below, looking up at the great magnitude of the world surrounding the viewer. Even the presence of people in the field does not detract from the wild, powerful feeling of the mountains as they rise up to bite the clouds. 

Joey Woodward