American Wilderness Experience

For this field trip we will be visiting art museums, including the National Gallery of Art, The Renwick Gallery, the Corcoran Gallery, and the American Art Museum They are free, except for the Corcoran, which charges a nominal admission of a couple of dollars. You will need to either bring a lunch to eat, or bring money to purchase a lunch, as well as weather appropriate clothing, good walking shoes, and money for any snacks that you want.

We will meet at 7:00 am in the Guerrerri Parking Lot (on the Dogwood side), load in the bus, and leave at 7:05 am. We will stop in Easton (around 8:00) at the Dunkin Donuts, in case any of you want to bring a little extra cash to buy some breakfast (assuming you may not have eaten prior to 7:00 am). When we get to Washington, we will be dropped off in front of the National Gallery of Art. I will start you off in the National Gallery, then you will then be on your own until we all meet again at the same place we were dropped off, at 4:30. It is essential that you be back at our drop-off/pick-up point by 4:30, so that we do not leave you, or cause the whole group to be late in returning to Salisbury. Please, nobody go off by yourself.

While you are in D.C., I am going to ask you to look at American Landscape paintings of the mid-to-late 1800s. This includes the painters of the Hudson River school, as well as their “descendants.” As museums rotate their collections on display (in other words, they own more paintings than they have space to hang), it is difficult to predict exactly which works will be on display this Saturday. It is fairly safe, though, to predict that certain artists will be represented. I am thus giving you a list of artists. For each of these artists, find out which paintings are on display at the three galleries (some of these painters might be on display at only one of the three galleries). You can generally ask at the front desk and find out where the American landscapes are located. The Renwick has one huge central room. It is full of paintings by George Catlin, and a few massive landscapes by Thomas Moran. Take note particularly of the Morans, and get the feel of the Catlins.

When you find a painting by one of our designated artists, take the time to actually look at it. Don’t just take a glance and go on. Take notes on each painting you find. You have all day at the museums – I expect for you to take advantage of your time. Clearly, you could run through these museums and see the relevant paintings and be done before lunch. If you did this, though, you would have a hard time remembering the paintings, or writing about them on an exam. It is not often that you can devote a day to looking at, and thinking about, art. This is a rare chance; make the most of it. Any paintings on display at these galleries by any of our artists will be fair game for an I.D. on our mid-term exam.

In the interest of allowing you a greater opportunity to think about a couple of the paintings, I would like for you to choose two of the paintings you find. One of the two paintings you chose must be from one of the artists below marked with a *. For these two paintings you chose, complete a sketched copy of the painting. I know that most of you are not artists. But, even the poorest artist can, with some effort, replicate the key elements of a painting. I will not judge your artistic talent, but I will judge your effort. And believe me – effort is obvious. Then, for class on Monday, turn in these two sketches, as well as a typed two-page essay describing what your two paintings suggest about American understandings of wilderness, using Angela Miller’s essay: chapter six of American Wilderness, to help you focus your essay. She describes three different types of landscapes in this period (critical romanticism, the middle landscape, and the heroic landscape) and she talks about the characteristics of each one. Do your paintings fit into those categories, or not? Use details from the paintings, as well as Miller’s chapter, in making your point. Do not do additional research.

George Catlin (there will be a bunch of Catlin paintings on display, particularly at the Renwick. You only need to choose two or three to take notes on, so that you recognize his subject matter and style)

Look also for any other American Landscape painters from this time period. Turn in your notes from any painters not included in my list, along with your homework, for bonus points (if they fit our class criteria).