Welcome
Prof. Manthorne’s class at West Point.
On the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s historic voyage, the CUNY Graduate Center Ph.D Program in Art History and Boscobel Restoration present Home on the Hudson: Women and Men Painting Landscapes 1825-1875.
Coordinated by guest curator Professor Katherine E. Manthorne, the concept of the exhibition was explored in her Fall 2008 seminar at the CUNY Graduate Center. The contributions of seventeen graduate students constitute the catalogue, considering a wide array of artists, both renowned and lesser known.
This exhibition has a dual approach: exploring the sites where the artists lived and worked as well as the domestication of Hudson river scenery in objects intended for the middle class home. Both thematic strains underscore and layer the concept of “Home” on the Hudson. Moreover, Home on the Hudson approaches the canonical in innovative ways. The luminaries of the Hudson River School are recontextualized while some heretofore unexamined artists of Hudson River valley are included among their ranks.
Steve Turner/Aer Photo
An exemplar of Federal architecture, Boscobel was completed in 1808 for the States Dyckman Family. Saved from demolition and brought to its present location through the effort of conservationists, it now stands on the east side of the river, directly across from West Point.
In addition to the home itself, complete with exquisite period interiors, an exhibition gallery was recently installed. This home on the Hudson is a fitting site for a reexamination of the Hudson River School.