The Power of Place

The tradition of landscape painting has stood the test of time. The natural world changes but the desire to depict it has endured, ever since it ceased being only a backdrop for figurative works, first in the Netherlands in the early 17th century, and emerged as a genre in its own right.

- Introduction by Sarah Gianelli

Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), Niagara, 1857. Oil on canvas, 40 x 90% in. Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund).

It took roughly two more centuries for the landscape to earn respect as a central subject of paintings in Europe and America, but by the early 19th century the tradition had taken root, and those roots have only grown deeper and stronger with time. The landscape continues to be a favorite subject of contemporary artists, and one of the most popular genres among collectors.

Looking at the evolution of American landscape painting over time, as the Hudson River School painters' highly dramatic and romanticized renderings gave way to scenes of urban industrialization, and the backlash that resulted in idealized visions of agrarian life, we can trace humanity's shifting perception of the world around them. Through the constancy of the landscape, we can also track the unfolding of specific movements—from the painterliness of impressionism to the blocky forms of modernism—and how artists filtered their way of seeing their surroundings through their principles.

Historic or contemporary, landscape paintings invite us to step inside a particular place, to look through the artist's eyes, to feel what they felt, while leaving room for the viewer to project their own emotions and memories upon the scene. While specific, landscapes have universal appeal, a testament to the healing properties of the natural world and our desire to preserve it.

Grant Wood (1891-1942), Young Corn, 1931. Oil on Masonite, 23% x 294 in. Cedar Rapids Community School District on loan to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. L1.70.3.177.