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Maine Sublime: Frederic Church’s "Twilight in the Wilderness"

Tags for: Maine Sublime: Frederic Church’s "Twilight in the Wilderness"
  • Special Exhibition
Saturday, October 4, 2014–Sunday, January 25, 2015
Location:  010 Focus Gallery
Julia and Larry Pollock Focus Gallery
Mount Katahdin from Upper Togue Lake (detail), c. 1877–78. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Oil on academy board; 21.6 x 50.8 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation OL.1981.70.

Mount Katahdin from Upper Togue Lake (detail), c. 1877–78. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Oil on academy board; 21.6 x 50.8 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation OL.1981.70.

  1. Mount Katahdin from Upper Togue Lake, c. 1877–78. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Oil on academy board; 21.6 x 50.8 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation OL.1981.70.
     Mount Katahdin from Upper Togue Lake, c. 1877–78. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Oil on academy board; 21.6 x 50.8 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation OL.1981.70. 

  2. Twilight in the Wilderness, 1860. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Oil on canvas; 101.6 x 162.6 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1965.233.
     Twilight in the Wilderness, 1860. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Oil on canvas; 101.6 x 162.6 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1965.233. 

  3. Lumber Mill, Mount Desert Island, c. July–August 1850. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Graphite, gouache, and chalk on gray-green paper; 26 x 38.1 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservatio
     Lumber Mill, Mount Desert Island, c. July–August 1850. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Graphite, gouache, and chalk on gray-green paper; 26 x 38.1 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation OL.1980.1610. 

  4. Sunset, c. 1856–65. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Oil on paper mounted on ragboard and panel; 29.5 x 46.4 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation OL.1980.1633.
     Sunset, c. 1856–65. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Oil on paper mounted on ragboard and panel; 29.5 x 46.4 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation OL.1980.1633. 

  5. Wood Interior on Mount Turner, c. 1877. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Oil and graphite on paper mounted on canvas; 31.3 x 51.6 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation OL.1980.1869.
     Wood Interior on Mount Turner, c. 1877. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Oil and graphite on paper mounted on canvas; 31.3 x 51.6 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation OL.1980.1869. 

  6. Evergreen Trees, Mount Desert Island, c. August 1850. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Graphite and gouache on coarse light brown paper; 37.2 x 28.6 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservati
     Evergreen Trees, Mount Desert Island, c. August 1850. Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900). Graphite and gouache on coarse light brown paper; 37.2 x 28.6 cm. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation OL.1980.199. 
View More CMA Objects in the Exhibition

About The Exhibition

Famed landscape painter Frederic Church (1826-1900) had a long-standing love affair with the natural beauty of Maine, which he described as “magnificent both land and seaward.” Over the course of three decades, he visited often, creating intimately scaled sketches in a variety of media that served to inspire his major works, including Twilight in the Wilderness (1860), one of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s most esteemed masterpieces. This exhibition showcases the painting alongside a group of nearly 25 sketches recording Maine’s rugged interior, rocky coast, and windswept islands. Some on public view for the first time, these sketches in pencil, gouache, and oil are lent from the collection at Olana, the artist’s home and 250-acre designed landscape.

The Olana Partnership, Hudson, NY, and New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Albany, NY organized Maine Sublime. This exhibition has been supported in part by grants from foundations, corporations, and individuals.

Olana State Historic Site is one of 35 historic properties owned and administered by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor.

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