Painting Summer in New England

April 22 - September 4, 2006

Wall texts for the exhibition:

In the mid 1830s, painter Thomas Cole wrote in praise of America's rural landscapes, arguing that the quiet appreciation of beautiful scenery helped the soul counter the unpleasantness of modern "utilitarianism." Farms and pastoral scenes were central to Cole's point, as in this passage about the Connecticut River: "Whether we see [the river] at Haverill, Northampton, or Hartford, it still possesses that gentle aspect; and the imagination can scarcely conceive Arcadian values more lovely or peaceful than the valley of the Connecticut -- its villages are rural places where trees overspread every dwelling, and the fields upon its margin have the richest verdure."

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