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Evocations into the Sublime - On Collecting 19th Century Paintings

Updated: Nov 27

An impression of the current show of Hudson River School paintings at the University of Scranton's Hope Horn Gallery.- - Brian Keeler



Above- An oil painting by James Hope (1818-1892) titled "Rainbow Falls, Watkins Glen." The painting of 1871 depicts the popular glen and series of waterfalls in nearby Watkins Glen, NY.


Exhibit at the Hope Horn Gallery- University of Scranton


There is currently a wonderful show at the Hope Horn Gallery at the University of Scranton curated by the gallery director, Darlene Miller-Lanning. The show, titled "Hudson River & Delaware Valley- Selections from the Paul Biedlingmaier Jr. Collection and the Mark Biedlingmaier Collection" features works from the collections of two brothers with connections to Scranton. This essay is a continuation of reports on collectors of the region penned during the past several years. The purpose of this series is to bring out individuals today who foster the arts through their patronage and scholarship and how art becomes intergral to their homes and lives.


The exhibit has a wonderful and in-depth catalog with color images of many of the paintings and it includes interviews conducted by Darlene with both Paul and Mark. The exhibit opened on Friday, November 15, 2024 with a lecture and slide presentation in the Kane Forum of Leahy Hall, moderated by Darlene with both brothers there offering anecdotes and insights into the background of many of the exhibit's paintings.  One such anecdote: at one point Paul mentioned that he was in Mexico City and found a painting by a Hudson River School artist and he proceeded to bid on it at an auction.  An unknown caller was making bids to the juror, which brought up the final cost significantly.  It turned out to be his brother!  There's a lesson of some sort here.


The exhibit presents 33 works by some of the main artists of the Hudson River School such as Asher Brown Durrand, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Hill and others. The school's leader, Thomas Cole is the notable exception.  The exhibit is of an appreciable scale, meaning that it is not overwhelming like blockbusters at major museums. Therefore, we can appreciate the intimacy of scale and subjects, delicacy of technique, or bravura brushwork and beauty of these works.  Many are small scale studies that may have been done en plein air. The brushy technique and spontaneous execution of many works show the process of paint application.  The exhibit also brings to us many splendid works by lesser-known artists of the group. The fact that Hudson River School was not a brick and mortar campus is mentioned by Paul Biedlingmaier as significant.  He says:


 " It was a movement, and it is fascinating to see how artists were able to consolidate art styles. travel together and develop a new portion of the country by picking up and moving out West from the Catskills to paint Yellowstone and Yosemite in Wyoming and California. It is truly Phenomenal." 


The text of the catalog makes note of the spiritual aspects of the work and the connections of the artists to literary and philosophical schools here in America and in Europe.  Seeing nature as a prelude or entree into communion with the divine and transcendent is noteworthy.  We usually don't think of painting in such spiritual terms, but this was an underpinning of many of the artist's trajectories. As the University of Scranton is a Jesuit school, with education as well as spirituality being essential to their mission, it seems fitting that this exhibit is presented here.


The concept of the sublime was mentioned in this essay's title and we can appreciate the visual and spiritual  in many of the works.  For example, the nocturnes in the exhibit embody this transcendent quality of ethereal atmospherics.  Herman Herzog's seascape depicting a bay on a windless night truly fits this category as it transports the viewer into a magical place.  This work titled, "Moonlight Cove" is a mid-size canvas with beautifully soft and delicate clouds surrounding the full moon.  The two warm points of man-made light, a campfire in the foreground and a distant light house, show the human element. A large wooden ladder in the foreground suggests an ascent into the sublime.  Another nocturne work in the show is by Thomas Hill.  This undated canvas shows a lone figure silhouetted and snowy path with moonlight.  


Above- Herman Herzog's painting titled, "Moonlit Cove" is part of the exhibit at the Hope Horn Gallery in Scranton, PA.


In regards to the sublime, here is a quote from Darlene Miller- Lanning from the catalog:


"The concept of the sublime was also associated with an understanding of God and spirituality through nature.  Since nature was the direct creation of God, a personal experience of nature could connect humans with the divine."


The connection of these American artists of the 19th century to the written works of Emerson, Thoreau and the general movement of the Transcendentalist is worth noting.   Embodying or expressing the harmony of nature through depictions of unspoiled landscapes was their avenue.  The artists, many who came from Europe with industrialized and smog-choked cities like London found an Arcadian purity in America.  The Eden-like nature, if not the Utopian potential, also held appeal.  It is also noteworthy to mention the proto-environmentalist nature of artists and writers such as the school's founder Thomas Cole.   To these artists the beauty of the Hudson, the Catskills and then the American west was worth portraying and protecting.  We also think of John Muir and other early American advocates of preservation.  There was a connection between portraying nature, honoring the transcendent and preserving and protecting God's work from defilement. 


As several of the prominent thinkers of the 19th century were also part of the Transcendentalists , they were actively progressive in the realm of education. This also seems appropriate at a Jesuit school like the University of Scranton. Among those pioneering educators were Margaret Fulller, Lousia May Alcott and Lidia Jackson Emerson. And like one of the group's founders, Amos Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa), his mission was a spiritual one with an emphasis on fostering the soul of students. We can appreciate the context of the 19th century arts through this exhibit.




Above- This painting by George Lafayette Clough titled "Landscape with Cottage, Fence and Stream" is one of the many small studies in the show at the Hope Horn Gallery.


There are many beautiful canvases in this remarkable show.  These works will appeal to current artists of nature, especially plein air artists.  The exhibit brings us work of artistic forebears who were out in the glens, along the rivers and sitting on spectacular overlooks. These high vantage points were given an interesting description- a convention known as the "magisterial gaze."  This is a welcomed term that provides respite from that now overworked and trendy term, "the male gaze." 


The show goes beyond the Hudson River School's idealism to include the gritty real life depictions of American cities. The view of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC is one such canvas that depicts 80th street on a dingy and cloudy day with snow covered walks. This oil painting by Guy Arthur Wiggins is titled "Winter at the Metropolitan."


We also think of the works of other outdoor painters of Europe, like Turner, Corot and Pierre Henri de Valenciennes or the Barbizon School artists of France.   The Macchiaioli school of Italian Impressionists are also evoked. All loved the agrarian scenes, the play of light and the beauty of ancient Roman structures in Rome or the campagna. The limited palette and nuanced tones of the artists just mentioned are similar to the painters in this exhibit.  One woman's work represented in the show, Julie Hart Beers, has a vertical format canvas of 1878 titled "Summer at Mossy Brook" that embodies a debt to her artistic heritage.  This painting is a study in dark tones and muted hues of limited palette which conveys the poetry of a stream with soft light.  We think of the high-chroma punch of some of the impressionists as a contrast to this work.  Both approaches to color usage are valid. 


The show includes cityscapes, genre scenes, nudes, allegorical paintings and symbolic works.  A canvas of a female nude viewed from behind over a soft landscape is one such allegorical piece. This work, titled "Mermaid and Moonlight"  by William Baxter Closson embodies the figurative tradition to evoke an other-worldly dreamscape.  And a similar work by Edgar Alwin Payne titled, "Summer's Goodbye" (shown below) depicts two lovers' heads wonderfully morphing out of the clouds for the female figure and melding into the land for the male profile- shown just before a kiss. Her head and hair is part of a golden cloud bank and he is looking up from the Earth's topography.



Above- An allegorical work in the show by Edgar Allen Payne titled, " Summer's Goodbye."


George Inness is connected to the exhibit as one of his paintings was inspired by a celestial occurrence, when the full moon coincided with a winter solstice. The nocturne by Thomas Hill titled, "Moonlit Landscape" was also inspired by this event.  Interestingly, the same conjunction of the full moon and solstice occurred last summer during the Susquehanna Summer Solstice plein air event at French Azilum, PA.  Perhaps artists are attuned to and inspired by similar cosmic events.  Innes is connected to this area of Pennsylvania and known to Scrantonians, as his paintng of the Lackawanna Valley of 1855 is in the National Gallery of Art in DC.


The art of collecting is a significant aspect of this show, as this particular collection is from contemporary collectors. Paul lives in an historic townhouse in Easton, PA and the interior of this 19th century Victorian seems a good context for showing art of the same era. Brother Mark's home in Dingman's Ferry, PA is a modern one-story structure that proves that art of the past can fit well in a home built recently. They got their start in art from their parents who were both collectors of antiques and paintings. Then with art history courses at the University of Scranton and travel abroad to study art and architecture in Europe, their collecting and art loving was set.


In conclusion, this exhibit underscores the importance of collectors in honoring and preserving art. Without their interest, passion and commitment the arts of the past and the present would be underserved. The exhibit also brings out the importance of scholarship, research and curatorial sensibilities. Small galleries like the Hope Horn Gallery and work of curators and scholars such as Darlene Miller-Lanning help preverse these works while fostering community and continuity in the arts.


The exhibit runs through November 28 and then resumes again from February 2 to March 18, 2025.



Above- The author's recent plein air painting a 26" x 30" oil on linen of Cascadilla Gorge in Ithaca. There is a connention between the painting of Watkins Glen by James Hope- (Shown at the top of this article) and this painting, as similar subjects are chosen.


Above- the author at work painting in Cascadilla Gorge in Ithaca, NY.

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