Sanford Gifford, Landscape Painting, and the Poetry of Nature
Autumn in the Catskills by Sanford Gifford
Join us for a free virtual talk on August 29 at 6 PM Central. This Virtual Symposium is free and open to the public. Dr. Franklin Kelly, Senior Curator and Christiane Ellis Valone Curator of American Paintings at the National Gallery of Art, will share about American painter Sanford Gifford (1823-1880), including Gifford’s Autumn in the Catskills, part of our permanent collection.
REGISTER ON ZOOM HERE.
ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM:
During the middle of the nineteenth century, landscape painting became the most important form of art in the United States. Artists of the Hudson River School—a loosely associated group of painters including Asher B. Durand, Frederic Edwin Church, and Albert Bierstadt who were inspired by the pioneering works of Thomas Cole—enjoyed great critical and popular success for their works celebrating the scenery of the Northeast and the West in America, the tropics of Central and South America, and the Old World of Europe. Sanford Gifford (1823-1880), the only artist of the school who was actually born in the Hudson River Valley, created some of the most beautiful and refined landscape paintings by any artist of the era in America.
Gifford’s contemporaries, recognizing how distinctive, unique, and personal his vision of landscape was, often compared his art to poetry. As one observed:
Both the painter and the poet strive to reproduce the impressions which they have received from the beautiful things in nature….If these impressions can be reproduced in words, it is the business of the poet to reproduce them. If they are subtle and elude the grasp of words, it is the business of the painter to reproduce them.
This lecture will provide an overview of Gifford’s artistic career and also examine closely a number of key works—including the radiant Autumn in the Catskills in the Parthenon’s collection—to reveal just what it was that made his distinctively beautiful paintings unique and so unmistakably his own.
WANT TO LEARN MORE? CHECK OUT THESE RESOURCES:
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Dr. Franklin Kelly is the Christiane Ellis Valone Curator of American Paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and a Distinguished Affiliate in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at the University of Maryland, College Park.is recognized nationally and internationally for his accomplishments as an art historian, museum professional, and university professor. Kelly has wide-ranging knowledge of the history of art and is considered one of the world's leading authorities on American art of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. He is particularly known for his expertise on the artists of the Hudson River School, especially Thomas Cole, Frederic Edwin Church, and Sanford Robinson Gifford, and on the artists Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper and George Bellows, and the British painters John Constable and J.M.W. Turner. His scholarly publications include books, exhibition catalogues, museum collection catalogues, essays, and articles. He has also presented scholarly papers at symposia and conferences and has lectured extensively at museums, universities, civic organizations, and other venues.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, Kelly holds degrees in art history from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (B.A.), Williams College (M.A.), and the University of Delaware (Ph.D.).
SYMPOSIUM SPONSORS:
Humanities Tennessee, Centennial Park Conservancy
ADDITIONAL SPONSORS:
The Parthenon, part of Metro Parks & Recreation, would like to thank the following organizations that provide underwriting support for its exhibition and educational programming, including Symposia, through grants and corporate partnerships with Centennial Park Conservancy:
Archaeological Institute of America- Nashville Society, Amazon, the Sandra Schatten Foundation, HCA Healthcare Foundation, Tennessee Arts Commission, Hays Foundation, and Advance Financial Foundation
Individuals can support the Parthenon by making a donation or becoming a member of Centennial Park Conservancy. Learn more.
NEXT SYMPOSIUM:
October 22 at 10 AM Central: American Excavations in Ancient Corinth, Greece REGISTER & DETAILS