Upcoming

Eating on Arcadia:
Hudson River Views on Ceramics

October 4, 2008 – January 11, 2009

After the War of 1812, the United States’ renewed trade with England and her citizens’ growing cultural self-consciousness created fertile ground for the importing of scenic Staffordshire ceramics. At the time, Americans were becoming an avid audience for images glorifying the beauties of their nation. From the cities to the wilderness, artists, printmakers and publishers promoted this unique scenery, and premier among these treasures was the Hudson River. Since only the wealthy could afford oil paintings, popular art played a large role in this patriotic consumption. The most elaborate Hudson River prints were from the hand-colored Hudson River Portfolio (1821-25). Recognizing the trendy value of these images, English ceramics companies, such as Enoch Wood & Sons and James and Ralph Clews, began to copy these and other prints onto affordable earthenware ceramics for the American market.

Eating on Arcadia will illustrate the middle-class craze for this scenic transferware, which began in the 1820s and continued for much of the Victorian era. Numerous examples of plates, platters, tureens and pitchers featuring views up and down the Hudson River will be juxtaposed with the original prints that inspired them. Through these sets of mass-produced dishes, many an American family sat down to evening dinner with the beauties of the Hudson spread before them.

Retrospective of famed American illustrator will comprise original paintings and drawings, including covers for The Saturday Evening Post and advertisements for Arrow Collars and Shirts.

Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874-1951) was born in Germany and came to Chicago as a child in 1882. He apprenticed at the Chicago engraving house of J. Manz & Company, where he advanced to a full-time position as staff artist, while attending the Chicago Art Institute. He studied in Paris for two years at Académie Julian, under the tutelage of Jean Paul Laurens and Benjamin Constant. The famous neo-classical artist Adolphe Bouguereau then directed the school, and Leyendecker was considered by all three masters to be the brightest student at the Académie. Leyendecker learned, while in Paris, that a good artist could have a rewarding and lucrative career as an illustrator and decided to devote himself to that pursuit; he seldom deviated from his chosen field throughout his long career.

Between 1898 and 1918 Leyendecker created forty-eight cover paintings for COLLIER'S magazine, and in 1899 the artist executed his first SATURDAY EVENING POST cover. It was the first of the 322 covers he would produce for the magazine, more than any other artist working for the SATURDAY EVENING POST, including Norman Rockwell. His popularity was due to his ability to convey the essence of both everyday life in America and international events through paintings that reflected his unique sense of drama, romanticism, and humor. In 1905 he received his most important commission when hired by Cluett, Peabody & Company, Inc., which manufactured Arrow Brand shirt collars. The ''Arrow Collar Man'', as well as the images he created for Kuppenheimer Suits and Inter-woven Socks, soon came to define the fashionable American male of the early 20th century. As part of an advertising campaign for Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Leyendecker created a series of children's images that are as winsome and winning today as when they were created more than 90 years ago.

Organized By The HagginMuseum, Stockton, California

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Staffordshire Plate: 'Picturesque Views: West Point, Hudson River' James & Ralph Clews, English, c. 1825-34 Glazed earthenware plate with black transfer print from Hudson River Portfolio. 8 in. dia. Collection of Hudson River Museum, Gift of Bernice Sokol, 93.4.1 J.C. Lyendecker The Saturday Evening Post Airships Circling Baby New YearJanuary 2, 1932 Oil on canvas, 32 x 23 1/8 inches Curtis Publishing, Inc. Edward Moran Henry Hudson Entering New York, 1892Oil on canvas, 36 x 53 inches Collection of Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, Massachusetts	Eating on Arcadia: Hudson River Views on Ceramics October 4, 2008 – January 11, 2009 After the War of 1812, the United States’ renewed trade with England and her citizens’ growing cultural self-consciousness created fertile ground for the importing of scenic Staffordshire ceramics. At the time, Americans were becoming an avid audience for images glorifying the beauties of their nation. From the cities to the wilderness, artists, printmakers and publishers promoted this unique scenery, and premier among these treasures was the Hudson River. Since only the wealthy could afford oil paintings, popular art played a large role in this patriotic consumption. The most elaborate Hudson River prints were from the hand-colored Hudson River Portfolio (1821-25). Recognizing the trendy value of these images, English ceramics companies, such as Enoch Wood & Sons and James and Ralph Clews, began to copy these and other prints onto affordable earthenware ceramics for the American market. Eating on Arcadia will illustrate the middle-class craze for this scenic transferware, which began in the 1820s and continued for much of the Victorian era. Numerous examples of plates, platters, tureens and pitchers featuring views up and down the Hudson River will be juxtaposed with the original prints that inspired them. Through these sets of mass-produced dishes, many an American family sat down to evening dinner with the beauties of the Hudson spread before them.
	J.C. Leyendecker: America's 'Other' Illustrator January 31 - May 10, 2009 Retrospective of famed American illustrator will comprise original paintings and drawings, including covers for The Saturday Evening Post and advertisements for Arrow Collars and Shirts. Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874-1951) was born in Germany and came to Chicago as a child in 1882. He apprenticed at the Chicago engraving house of J. Manz & Company, where he advanced to a full-time position as staff artist, while attending the Chicago Art Institute. He studied in Paris for two years at Académie Julian, under the tutelage of Jean Paul Laurens and Benjamin Constant. The famous neo-classical artist Adolphe Bouguereau then directed the school, and Leyendecker was considered by all three masters to be the brightest student at the Académie. Leyendecker learned, while in Paris, that a good artist could have a rewarding and lucrative career as an illustrator and decided to devote himself to that pursuit; he seldom deviated from his chosen field throughout his long career. Between 1898 and 1918 Leyendecker created forty-eight cover paintings for COLLIER'S magazine, and in 1899 the artist executed his first SATURDAY EVENING POST cover. It was the first of the 322 covers he would produce for the magazine, more than any other artist working for the SATURDAY EVENING POST, including Norman Rockwell. His popularity was due to his ability to convey the essence of both everyday life in America and international events through paintings that reflected his unique sense of drama, romanticism, and humor. In 1905 he received his most important commission when hired by Cluett, Peabody & Company, Inc., which manufactured Arrow Brand shirt collars. The ''Arrow Collar Man'', as well as the images he created for Kuppenheimer Suits and Inter-woven Socks, soon came to define the fashionable American male of the early 20th century. As part of an advertising campaign for Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Leyendecker created a series of children's images that are as winsome and winning today as when they were created more than 90 years ago. Organized By The HagginMuseum, Stockton, California
	Dutch New York: The Roots of Hudson Valley Culture June 13, 2009 through January 10, 2010 The year 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the Hudson River. This major exhibition and its accompanying publication will explore New York’s Dutch roots and the differing ways Dutch-influenced culture has been interpreted throughout New York’s long history. From legends and celebration to scholarly critique and analysis, New Yorkers’ understanding of their unique heritage has changed over the years and contributed to the distinctive culture that is New York today. The exhibition will explore five key moments of Dutch influence: 1609, when the Half Moon entered New York harbor; 1709, during a period when Dutch culture continued to thrive under English rule; 1809, when Washington Irving’s popular stories began to romanticize Dutch heritage; 1909, when the Hudson-Fulton Celebration attempted to create a common Dutch past for a rapidly growing nation; and 2009, at a moment when the very concept of historical “celebration” is increasingly debated. These stories will be illustrated through a rich array of paintings, prints, photographs, furniture, decorative arts, maps and ephemera from the Museum and other collections. Major lenders include the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the New-York Historical Society, and Yale University Art Gallery. The exhibition is being co-curated by Roger Panetta, Adjunct Curator of History, Hudson River Museum and Visiting Professor of History at Fordham University; Bartholomew F. Bland, Curator of Exhibitions, Hudson River Museum, and Laura L. Vookles, Chief Curator of Collections, Hudson River Museum. Eminent outside scholars will provide expertise and contribute to the accompanying publication, which will have national distribution through Fordham University Press.

Eating on Arcadia: Hudson River Views on Ceramics

Eating on Arcadia:
Hudson River Views on Ceramics