Landscape painters who frequented artist settlements at Cape Ann, Monhegan, and Old Lyme, to name a few, also maintained studios in New York City where their work could be exhibited and sold to the public. To the extent that the city provided a practical means of supporting more spiritual artistic activities in the countryside, the campaign in turn gave artists the inspiration and energy to see the city in a renewed light.
This exhibition will explore the city and the countryside through the eyes and on the canvases of a variety of successful painters from the 19th to the 21st century, as well as the work of contemporary realist Nicora Gangi. Over thirty oil paintings and watercolors by renowned American artists will be on display and offered for sale at MME Fine Art, LLC in New York City from January 25, 2013 to March 15, 2012.
Landscape painters who frequented artist settlements at Cape Ann, Monhegan, and Old Lyme, to name a few, also maintained studios in New York City where their work could be exhibited and sold to the public. The artist’s professional role was crucial, allowing for other trips or second homes in the countryside which provided much of their subject matter.
Artists like Frank Vincent DuMond (1865-1951) have found a balance between country adventures and city responsibilities. He funded his fishing trips by teaching art at the Art Students League in New York. His Canyon pool, circa 1940, is a grand tribute to his passion for the outdoors and sporting activities.
Felicie Waldo Howell (1897-1968) shows the Brooklyn Bridge, 1930, dynamically, with the bridge deck in purple shade projecting towards the viewer. Far from typical metropolitan scenes, these are celebrations of the urban landscape; as vigorous and shiny as any painting of spring at Old Lyme or a summer’s day at Monhegan.
Not always mindful of the contrasts between city and country, artists like Jane Peterson (1876-1965) found natural scenes in the urban setting. In Central Park, 1918, rather than juxtaposing man-made structures with natural elements, she used softer lines and chose a palette that would bring the two together. When he was out of town, Peterson was in Gloucester, Massachusetts, painting vivid harbor scenes. The pleasure given to artists who could spend time and work in artist colonies seemed to spill over into depictions of urban subjects.
Guy Carleton Wiggins (1883-1962) spent his summers at Lyme Art Colony in Old Lyme, Connecticut, and his winters in Manhattan. Wiggins, who became famous for his paintings of New York in Winter, was able to define and distinguish the unique beauty of urban and bucolic worms. In Connecticut Landscape, he reflects the glorious hues of a New England autumn, while his 1934 Washington Square captures the grim beauty of a snow-covered New York landmark.
Drawing inspiration from her travels between her home in New York and upstate New York, Nicora Gangi, who is exclusively represented by MME Fine Art, presents several paintings in this exhibition that reflect the artist’s fascination with the captivating light and energy of New York City and the tranquil beauty of the Hudson River Valley with its own magical light.
MME Fine Art, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, specializes in American paintings from 1860 to 1960 and features examples of paintings from the Hudson River School, the Navy, the still life, and the American Impressionists. The gallery will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and is located at 74 East 79th Street, Penthouse B, New York, 10075. Phone: 212.439.6600; email: [email protected]; website: www.mmefineart.com.
