Thoughts on Thomas Cole and Frederic Church - Rivers and the ancient antecedents-
an essay- Brian Keeler
The Hudson River School artists, their mission, aesthetics and connections to historical themes have been in mind. We visited the Thomas Cole and Frederic Church homes in the upper Hudson River valley in mid-August. It was great to reconnect with both artists and to glean new appreciation for the underpinnings of their art and the tradition of realism they represent. Cole of course, has a pronounced environmental component to his art, so it was rewarding to reaffirm this aspect too.
Above- "Summer Sonnet, Susquehanna at Sugar Run, PA" This 18" x 48" oil on linen on panel by the author was begun as a plein air work. This location is mentioned in the text below as a sacred but endangered location- due to the potential industrial site adjacent from either and LNG of high tech data center. Keeler finds common cause with the Hudson River School paninters for both their aesthetic concerns and early environmental advocacy.
The offerings in the bookstore at the Cole Museum offered several authors' work that fit in with this idea of blending spirituality, environmental concerns and art. One author, Simon Schama, whose wonderful work on Rembrandt, "The Eyes of Rembrandt" is a huge tome, but it is worth every page. His new book, which I am just beginning, "Landscape and Memory," promises to explore this interface.
Although I've found inspiration and appreciation for the painters of the Hudson River school, I've never actually painted the river, yet. While delivering a painting to a patron in Kingston, NY we had the opportunity to drive up and across the river on our way to the towns of Hudson and Catskill, NY. Olana, the magnificent castle-like edifice and former home of Church is a stunning structure on a hill overlooking the Hudson River. The light was not especially conducive when we were there, so perhaps, I will paint there another time. We had a guided tour of the show, aptly called "Afterglow Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory" for the paintings of sunsets that Church created. I anticipate that in October or November the sun will be setting just perfectly towards the southern direction of the river. And the foliage will not be blocking the upper section of the river. I imagined that the view from the upper porch of the mansion would offer an even more splendid view as it would show more of the river. Gaining entree to that vantage point seems less than likely.
The river itself, just glimpsed here and there during our trip, seemed miraculous and full of grandeur and magnificence. As sublime and beautiful as the Susquehanna River is, the Hudson River seemed to dwarf our river, as if the Hudson could be a type of great-grandfather of ours. Yet, I've read that the Susquehanna is somehow the oldest river in the world. And even more to this point, the Susquehanna's importance as a prequel for artistic inspiration of the 18th and 19th centuries has been noted by curator and contemporary artist, Rob Evans of Wrightsville, PA. Rob has devoted much of his own art career painting the southern section of the Susquehanna and researching the early artists of this Pennsylvania river.
Above- a plein air painting of the Susquehanna River in Wyoming County, PA. This 26" x 30" oil by the author is titled, "August Aria- Susquehanna River at Tunkhannock, PA."
Rivers in Time is the subtitle of this essay and it figures in with the idea of considering geological time with rivers. Often when I paddle the Susquehanna River, I like to think of the many aeons of time it has flowed through our mountains of Bradford County. It is easy to imagine as the trees on the banks and the protection of the mountains give us the feel that we are indeed in a timeless place. There is an essay mentioned in the book, "Sanctified Landscape" about Cole's art that is relevant here as it underscores the fragility of the landscape. This essay, by the journalist and art critic Clarence C. Cook regarded the Hudson valley from the vantage of 1897 and looked back over the previous two centuries. Cole and Clark viewed the advance of industrialism with extreme displeasure. Here is a passage in which he characterized the river valley as a "sleepy, pastoral peace" that continued until the "demon of steam" with its "ear splitting scream and thunderous tread" shattered the tranquility of that earlier time.
Indeed there are many corollaries and parallels to the continued "extractivist" industries of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. It is as if some issues remain but reinvent themselves. The onslaught of the fracking industry and the possibility of an LNG facility in Pennsylvania is the case in point. I have written on this matter before. But it keeps coming up in new forms that continue to present new forms of inundation and danger. Just recently the 265 acre tract of land along the river in Browntown, PA that had been slated for an LNG plant is now being repurposed (possibly) as a humongous high-tech data center. One might think I'd be pleased, as at face value it may present a less imminent danger. Still, this sacred tract of the river will be under danger from such massive incursions by Philistines that plan these ill-conceived money-centered developments. Just imagine the location of the painting at the top of this essay, as beautiful as it is now, forever defiled by a massive data center or LNG.
Apart from the environmental and aesthetic qualities of their work there is the deeply personal aspects. "Afterglow: Frederic Church and the Landscape of Memory" is the title of the exhibit at Olana and it is housed in the upper floor of the historic house. A significant aspect of the show is the intimate reflections of Church on canvas that are meant to be personal odes or memorials to friends and family who have died. There is one painting done in homage to his departed teacher, Cole. These works are full of personal symbolism and no doubt they helped with the grieving process.
Above- The painting by Frederic Church that is used to illustrate the title of the exhibit, does indeed convey the afterglow of an evening landscape. This painting a 31 x 48" oil on canvas.
Above- A plein air painting by Keeler of the Susquehanna River in Bradford County, PA. This 26" x 30" oil on linen is titled. "July Evening, Afterglow."
I still take solace in the river. The beauty of the eventide and quietude of an evening painting on the river or from its wonderful high vantage points is truly a gift. There is an idea about light that I am sure that Cole and Church would relate to and that is the intellectual essence of light. This concept came up in a discussion group about the philosopher Plotinus recently. Regarding light as containing a spiritual or intellectual content is not new but this application and rephrasing caught my attention.
So it is reassuring to find common cause with artists of the past for their artistic pursuits, their concerns and for their interest in our artistic traditions. For example both Church and Cole, and many other Americans found sustenance in the art and history of Italy and ancient Rome and Greece, where our paths crossed on more than one occasion in Italy. What comes to mind in particular is that both Cole and myself painted on location at the ancient amphitheater at Taormina in Sicily. The view is spectacular as it looks south over the coast with Mount Etna looming toward the east. I was initially attracted to this spot by the painting of another American, William Haseltine whose work hangs in the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco. I was taken by this oil on a trip there many years ago.
Above- an 18" x 20" oil on linen titled, "Taormina Light," depicts a view of the ancient amphitheatre also painted by Thomas Cole.
Above- Thomas Cole's painting of the ruins at Taormina done in 1843.
Above- Keeler painting in the amphitheatre at Taorimina, in Sicily, circa 2013.
The two artists' homes could not be more different, but each has its appeal. The Cole house is a beautiful and understated early 19th century home. The "new" studio is now the museum for special shows. The house is preserved and even his guitar lies on the sofa in one room. His easel in an earlier more rustic studio shows how he worked. Church, Cole's student, placed his grand home opposite the river and they supposedly took sketching trips together on both sides.
But their work is the real takeaway from a trip there. The sheer beauty and accomplishment of their paintings provides artists of today with a source of inspiration. Cole's work being featured in the new studio is a painting titled, "Last of the Mohicans" and it is an illustration for the book by James Fennimore Cooper of the same name. It was imagined but based on observation. It is a true masterpiece of painterly invention. Church's landscape of an evening scene underscores the theme of the exhibit, which is "Afterglow." And hence it relates to the title of this essay, Prequel/Sequel. The light that comes before that inspiration and the light that remains is the allusion here. Whether they be rivers in time, rivers of light or inspirations from afar and in history we are still able to glean gold in the golden hours.
Above- "June Evening Nocturne" by Keeler depicts the view from the overlook above French Azilum, PA
Above- "August Atmospherics- Susquehanna Evening" oil on linen 36" x 44". This painting by the author shows the same area of the Susquehanna River over French Azilum Historic site. This view is looking upstream the other on looking downstream.