Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford [Paperback]

Sanford Robinson Gifford (Author), Kevin J. Avery (Author), Franklin Kelly (Author), N. Y.) Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2003 | ISBN-10: 1588390985 | ISBN-13: 978-1588390981

Sanford Robinson Gifford was a leading Hudson River School artist. His love of nature first surfaced as a youth growing up in Hudson, New York, and, together with his admiration for the works of Thomas Cole, inspired him to become a landscape painter. Influenced as well by J.M.W. Turner and by trips to Europe in the 1850s, Gifford's art was termed "air painting", for he made the ambient light of each scene - colour-saturated and atmospherically enriched - the key to its expression. Gifford was a founder of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the time of his death, he was so esteemed by the New York art world that the Museum mounted an exhibition of his work - its first accorded an American artist - and published a Memorial Catalogue that for nearly a century remained the principal source on the artist. This volume features essays examining Gifford's position in the Hudson River School, his Catskill and Adirondack subjects, his patrons, and his adventures as a traveller both at home and abroad. More than 70 of the artist's best-known sketches and paintings are discussed and reproduced in colour.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This volume is the catalogue for an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (October 7, 2003 to February 8, 2004); the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth (March 4 to May 16, 2004); and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (June 27 to September 26, 2004). --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Kevin J. Avery is Associate Curator, Department of American Paintings and Sculpture, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Franklin Kelly is Curator of American and British Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Eleanor Jones Harvey is Luce Center Curator, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; Heidi Applegate is a doctoral candidate at Columbia University, New York. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 273 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588390985
• ISBN-13: 978-1588390981
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,218,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive coverge of Hudson River School artist, May 9, 2004

By 

"rcmetzger" (Allen, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford (Hardcover)

150 pages of the book are devoted to the works on display at the exhibition (I saw it at the Amon Carter). Since most of the works belong to private collectors, once the exhibition finishes at the National Gallery in Washington, this book will be the only place you will be able to look at the body of Gifford's work. The plates are excellent. If you like other Hudson River School painters, you will want this book.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revisiting Sanford Robinson Gifford, December 14, 2005

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford (Hardcover)

One of the American masters of landscape painting in the nineteenth century was Sanford Robinson Gifford, and though he was highly celebrated in his lifetime, his name appears now only occasionally when the topic of the Hudson River School of art is discussed. This excellent monograph, which accompanied an exhibition of his work in 2003 - 2004, serves to restore the reputation of one of our less widely known artists who captured Americana on canvas and was an important leader of the Hudson River School of painting.

More than seventy reproductions of Gifford's paintings and drawings grace the pages of this book - scenes of the Adirondacks and Catskills, luminous river scenes filled with the transparency of fog and light. But the book also serves as an historical document with photographs and information about Gifford and his travels abroad with the obvious influence of JMW Turner. His perception and use of ambient light so distinct to the Hudson River Valley are both discussed and illustrated.

This is a fine monograph of an important artist: it is also a superb study in art history of one of the most eloquent schools of painting in American history. Recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book, March 3, 2010

By 

L. K. Hubbell (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford (Hardcover)

Beautiful book with many lovely reproductions of good quality. Each image is well documented, many with preliminary sketches also reproduced. Biographical information is readable and enlightening.