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HEROIC PASTORALS
Images of the American Landscape
A new exhibition at Princeton University’s Firestone Library showcases the American Landscape.
Exhibition Dates: April 14 through October 6, 2002.
The intersection of nature and culture in the American landscape-and
its interpretation by artists from the 16th-20th century--is the focus of a new
exhibition currently on view in the Milberg Gallery for the Graphic Arts in the
Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Firestone Library.
Rebecca Davidson, curator of the exhibition and of Princeton's Graphic Arts
Collection, says that the title of the show, "Heroic Pastorals," was deliberately
chosen to highlight the tensions between Americans' feelings of awe and admiration
of their native landscape, and the need to tame, dominate, and exploit its magnificent
scenery and bountiful resources: thus the combination of heroic--epic
tales celebrating achievement--and pastoral--the idealization of country
life. Included in the exhibition are Frederick Church's awe-inspiring vista of Niagara
and Thomas Hill's painting of Yosemite, as well as Carleton Watkins' photograph
of decimated forests along the Columbia River in Oregon. Of special interest
are the panoramic nineteenth-century views of American cities, the exquisite
aquatints of artists such as Karl Bodmer and John Latrobe, and the finely-crafted
Depression-era landscapes of less well-known but talented printmakers such as
Hubert Deines and Stella Drabkin. Visitors to this exhibition will find much
material for reflection, Davidson believes, in these images of landscapes which,
though irretrievably lost, still sustain our sense of place and inspire our
efforts to save what remains.
For a schedule of tours and other events associated with this exhibition, please call Graphic Arts at 609-258-3197, or write davidson@princeton.edu.
 © 2002 Princeton University Library One Washington Road Princeton, New Jersey 08544 USA Department of Rare Books and Special Collections Email: rbsc@princeton.edu Tel: (609) 258-3184 Fax: (609) 258-2324 Copyright infringement reports |