The Hudson River School - Lunch, Lecture, Guided Tour - 7/10

Lake Winnepesaukee, Thomas Cole

Many know that the Hudson River School of landscape painting is recognized as America’s first distinctive school of art – but few know about the effort involved in storing, conserving and selecting a collection of drawings, paintings and ephemera for an exhibit.

The Albany Institute of History & Art’s Curator of History and Material Culture, Doug McCombs, Ph.D. will discuss the process of curating the exhibit titled The Making of the Hudson River School: More than the Eye Beholds at a luncheon at the University Club of Albany, 141 Washington Avenue at Dove Street, on Wednesday, July 10 from 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m.

Following the presentation, McCombs will lead a guided tour of the exhibit at the Albany Institute, across the street from the Club. Following the tour, participants may explore the other exhibits until closing time. The cost for the luncheon is $20, and admission to the museum is $10. Members of the Albany Institute will be admitted to the museum for free – new members may join on the spot and the admission fee will be waived. Reservations are required and may be made by calling the University Club at 518-463-1151 or online.

The Hudson River School of landscape painting emerged, evolved, and declined during a fifty-year period between 1825 and about 1875. Although not a formal school, the Hudson River School consisted of a group of closely connected artists who lived and worked in the Hudson Valley and who turned to the American landscape as a source of inspiration and subject matter.

The exhibition More than the Eye Beholds examines the American landscape and the making of the Hudson River School through selected topics that bring together significant paintings and drawings from such well-known artists as Thomas Cole, Frederic Edwin Church, Asher B. Durand, and others. More than the Eye Beholds includes works from the Albany Institute’s collection of Hudson River School paintings and drawings along with works from several private collections that have not been shown before in a public exhibition.

This event is presented by the University Club of Albany Foundation, Inc., 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. One need not be a member of the University Club to attend. Support for educational programming presented by the University Club Foundation is provided by AT&T.