The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

The Clove - A Storm Scene in the Catskill Mountains

The Clove - A Storm Scene in the Catskill Mountains

1851
(American, 1823–1900)
America, 19th century
oil on canvas
Unframed: 152 x 120.2 cm (59 13/16 x 47 5/16 in.)
Gift of the Horace Kelley Art Foundation 1946.494
Location: not on view

Description

In this dramatic portrayal of the American wilderness, wind and rain ravage the landscape as lightning flashes in the distance. Cropsey's dark colors and roughly handled paint create an ominous tone which emphasizes the overwhelming power of the storm. At the right, an Indian hunter crouches beside a tree and watches helplessly as the stag he just shot tumbles over the waterfall, reinforcing the theme of nature's superiority over man. The artist was a devout follower of Hudson River School founder Thomas Cole, whose poem "Storm in the Catskills" is believed to have inspired this painting. While often criticized for copying Cole's style, Cropsey chose to render a close-up view of this scene, a departure from Cole's more distant, romantic vistas. Cropsey's familiarity with Frederic Church's landscapes is also evident here; notice the similarity between the splintered tree in the foreground and Church's Storm in the Mountains (1969.52; also in this gallery).
  • Francis, Henry S. “Two Pictures of the Hudson River School.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 34, no. 3 (March 1947): 48–54. Mentioned: p. 48 www.jstor.org
    Talbot, William S. “American Visions of Wilderness.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 56, no. 4 (April 1969): 151–66. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 156-159, fig. 5-8 www.jstor.org
    Talbot, William S. “Visions of Landscape: East and West.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 70, no. 3 (March 1983): 112–135. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 125, fig. 20 www.jstor.org
  • Tempests and Romantic Visionaries: Images of Storms in European and American Art, 1750-1950. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, OK (organizer) (April 20-August 13, 2006).
    Oklahoma City Museum of Art (4/20/2006 - 8/13/2006): "Tempests and Romantic Visionaries: Images of Storms in European and American Art, 1750-1950"
    Yonkers, NY, The Hudson River Museum, The Book of Nature: American Painters and the Natural Sublime (27 October 1983 - 4 January 1984), cat. p. 106, p. 17, ill. p. 18.
    Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).
    Cleveland, OH, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Visions of Landscape: East and West (17 February - 21 March 1982), no cat.
    Cleveland, OH, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Jasper F. Cropsey 1823-1900 (8 July - 16 August 1970); no. 17, p. 72-3, ill. p. 74; traveled to Utica, NY, Munson-Williams-Poctor Institute (14 September - 25 October 1970); traveled to Washington, DC, National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institute (23 November 1970 - 3 January 1971).
    New York, NY, National Academy of Design, (1851), no. 6 as The Cove.
    Loan to the exhibition:
    Jasper F. Cropsey, 1823-1900. Art Gallery, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD (organizer) (February 2-March 3, 1968).
    College Park, MD, University of Maryland Art Gallery, Jasper Cropsey 1823-1900: A Retrospective View of America's Painter of Autumn (2 February - 3 March 1968), cat. no. 2, p. 17, 19, ill. p. 16.
  • {{cite web|title=The Clove - A Storm Scene in the Catskill Mountains|url=false|author=Jasper F. Cropsey|year=1851|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1946.494