As summer turns to Fall in New
York City, the Secret Victorianist ventured up to the Bronx to New York’s
Botanical Gardens for an exhibition centred on late nineteenth- and early
twentieth-century American Impressionists and the importance of gardens and
parks to their work.
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| Landscape: Shinnecock, Long Island, William Merritt Chase (c.1896) |
The art component of the
exhibition featured paintings by artists including Frederick Childe Hassam (1859-1935), John
Singer Sargent (1856-1925), William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) and John Henry
Twachtman (1853-1902) — rich, colourful canvases depicting scenes like private
gardens (e.g. one belonging to writer Celia Thaxter (1835-1894)), the
Horticulture Building at Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exhibition in 1893 and New
York’s public parks.
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| Wildflowers, John Henry Twachtman (1891) |
The Gardens’ Enid A. Haupt Conservatory was transformed into a complimentary living
Impressionist garden, featuring plants favoured in the era, which saw a return
to a more natural, ‘old-fashioned’ style of landscape design rather than more
structured, formal gardens. You can sit in a rocking chair and enjoy the view,
framed by the struts of a New England style porch.
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| Descending the Steps, Central Park, Frederick Childe Hassam (1895) |
A common theme in the paintings
seemed to be a high level of sympathy between the gardens and their inhabitants,
whether hardworking gardeners crouched low to the ground, or dawdling strollers
taking in the vista, their backs to the artist. Many were painted at artists’
colonies, where this kind of communion between men and nature was the goal, and
it’s hard to look at the pieces without experiencing something of the same
feeling of escape and peacefulness.
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| Horticultural Building, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Frederick Childe Hassam (1893) |
The exhibition was designed to
celebrate NYBG’s 125th anniversary and did a wonderful job of
exploring the experience of
Impressionism — an experience that felt more personal and immersive than the
school’s most famous paintings. Many of these artists’ works make you want to
walk into their painted gardens. Thanks to this exhibition I could.
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| Inside the Conservatory |
Do you know of any NYC
exhibitions you think the Secret Victorianist should visit? Let me know — here,
on Facebook or by tweeting @SVictorianist.
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