Hudson Rising on View March 1 – August 4, 2019
Hudson Rising On view March 1 – August 4, 2019 Selected PR Images The New-York Historical Society explores 200 years of ecological change, artistic inspiration, and environmental activism along the Hudson River in Hudson Rising. The exhibition features celebrated Hudson River School paintings, artifacts, and stories that evoke a journey through Hudson River landscapes and weave together 200 years of history from the industrial era to today. Much more than a body of water, the Hudson River and its environs have provided habitat for humans and hundreds of species of fish, birds, and plants; offered an escape for city-dwellers; and became a battleground between industrialists and environmental activists. Writers and artists have captured the river in paintings, drawings, literature, and photographs, and surveyors and scientists have mapped and measured every aspect of it. Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire: Desolation, 1833-1836, New-York Historical Society, Gift of the New-York Gallery of the Fine Arts, 1858.5 Course of Empire is a panoramic series of five paintings intended to inspire reflection on the meaning of “progress.” Shown in a prelude to the exhibition, the first three paintings depict the transformation of a pristine landscape into a new and thriving city. The final two— including — Desolation chart its dramatic decline, leading to the fall of an entire civilization. Model of the Mary Powell, 1947. New-York Historical Society, Gift of Mr. Edward Hungerford Wood- and coal-fired steamboats made Hudson journeys easy, cheap, and reliable, carrying upriver New York City’s burgeoning population and manufactured goods. They brought back ice, bricks, iron, coal, and lumber.
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