"Snow Scenes" Luncheon and Gallery Tour

Explore the works of Walter Launt Palmer at the University Club and Albany Institute of History & Art

The public is invited to attend a luncheon and presentation celebrating the work of one of Albany’s most prolific artists, Walter Launt Palmer, on Thursday, February 17, 2011 from noon – 2:00 p.m.

Snow Scenes will begin at noon with a hot and cold buffet and lecture at the University Club, 141 Washington Avenue at Dove Street, and then proceed across the street at 1:00 p.m. for a guided tour at the Albany Institute of History & Art. The University Club of Albany Foundation, Inc. is presenting this event in conjunction with the Institute, and one need not be a member to attend.

Tammis Groft, the Institute’s Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions, will discuss a collection of Palmer’s snow scenes on permanent exhibit in the dining room of the University Club, along with a selection of related material in the collection of the Institute. Participants will get an up-close look at two recently-acquired pieces of Chinese ceramics that Palmer depicted in his 1878 painting, Interior of the Learned House, 298 State Street, Albany. The pieces were donated in 2009 by Philip Kerr of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The painting itself will be on view at the Institute, along with a library table designed by New York Architect Russell Sturgis also featured in the painting.

Frequently called “The Painter of the American Winter,” the Albany-born Walter Launt Palmer (1854-1932) produced more than three hundred snow scenes from 1884 to 1932. In his 1910 essay “On The Painting of Snow,” Palmer, who had embraced Impressionism, acknowledged his debt to John Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelites for influencing his early work, especially the discovery that the shadows on snow are blue, an important original element found in all of his snow scenes.

The cost for the luncheon and lecture is $35 and includes admission to the Albany Institute. Reservations are required and may be made by calling the University Club at 518-463-1151.

A portion of the proceeds from this event benefit the University Club Foundation, formed to recognize and maintain the unique historic and architectural significance of the University Club building and property, its historic neighborhood and the city of Albany, where it has been located since its inception in 1901.

Support for educational programming presented by the University Club of Albany Foundation, Inc. is provided by AT&T.

Above: Road to Olana, Walter Launt Palmer (1854-1932), 1888, watercolor and gouache on paper; Albany Institute of History & Art, gift of the estate of Miss Evelyn Newman. 1964.31.40