Meet Me at the River
From nineteenth-century studio portraits of Palisade Boat Club members to the quiet riverfront scenes captured by mid-twentieth-century photographer George Daniell, the works on view chronicle more than one hundred years of play on the Hudson shoreline.
Andrew Kung (American, b. 1991). Skipping Rocks, 2022. Digital print. Courtesy of the artist.
A summer swim. A boat ride to catch the sunset. A birthday party on the shoreline. The Hudson River has long served as a space to gather and take pleasure in the natural world. In this exhibition, the Hudson River Museum brings together archival and fine-art photographs to document how community members past and present have turned to the water for a joyful day out.
From nineteenth-century studio portraits of Palisade Boat Club members to the quiet riverfront scenes captured by mid-twentieth-century photographer George Daniell, the works on view chronicle more than 100 years of play on the Hudson. Here, friends lounge on a rocky shoreline or paddle across the bay. Throughout, the river takes shape as its own lively character, relayed through portraitlike close-ups or sweeping panoramic views. These photographs are complemented by a selection of images of local boat clubs as well as archival ephemera drawn from the Museum’s extensive collections of recreation along the Hudson.
At the same time, photographs of river traffic and lighthouse workers, taken by pioneering conservationist Ruth Glunt in the 1940s and 1950s, remind us that access to the shoreline was a hard-won battle: one that required a deep understanding of the river as a community resource. Contemporary photographer Andrew Kung’s ongoing series Dreaming on the Hudson also reveals that the river continues to invite conversations around access and equitability. Inspired by Hudson River School artists’ romantic depictions of the landscape, Kung stages his subjects in pastoral settings to investigate themes of masculinity and land stewardship. Through careful, sunlit compositions, he transforms images of soccer matches and picnics into radically tender scenes of friendship and belonging.
Meet Me at the River is co-curated by Karintha Lowe, HRM’s Mellon Public Humanities Fellow, and Christopher Fosina, Collection Assistant.
On view alongside Rivers Flow / Artists Connect, Meet Me at the River reflects the power of the Hudson River as an enduring gathering space for diverse communities.
Significant support is provided by the New York State Senate and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
This exhibition is made possible by Sarah Lawrence College through a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Additional assistance for HRM exhibitions is provided by the County of Westchester.
Selected objects
Photographer unidentified. Bathing Beach — Cruger’s Point Park, near Peekskill, n.d. Black-and-white photograph. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of Jay Downer, C.E., 1932 (32.47p).
Sarony and Co. (New York City, 1864–1969). Palisade Boat Club Member: Woman, Unidentified, ca. 1880s. Photograph. Collection of Hudson River Museum. Gift of Palisade Boat Club, 1962 (62.7.3.68).
Sarony and Co. Palisade Boat Club Members, ca. 1875–1900. Black-and-white photograph. Collection of Hudson River Museum (75.0.1655).
Photographer unidentified. Palisade Boat Club Member: Man, Unidentified, ca. 1880s. Photograph. Collection of Hudson River Museum. Gift of Palisade Boat Club, 1962 (62.7.3.48).
The Valentine & Sons Publishing Co. Palisade Boat Club House, 1909. Postcard. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Museum Purchase, 2024 (2024.0.006).
George Daniell (American, 1911–2002). Ludlow Boys on the Hudson River, ca. 1938. Black-and-white photograph. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of Roy Oxley, 2008 (2008.08.01).
Ruth Reynolds Glunt (American, 1892–1979). Family in Drydocked Boat at Saugerties Lighthouse, 1945. Reproduction from black-and-white negative. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of Edward A. Reynolds, 1982 (82.4.0010).
Ruth Reynolds Glunt (American, 1892–1979). Steamboat “Robert Fulton,” 1949. Reproduction from black-and-white negative. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of Edward A. Reynolds, 1982 (82.4.0037).
Guy Gillette (American, 1922–2013). Summertime Fun New York State, 1967. Silver gelatin print. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2007 (2007.08.39).
Andrew Kung (American, b. 1991). Skipping Rocks, 2022. Digital print. Courtesy of the artist.
Andrew Kung (American, b. 1991). River’s Dream, 2022. Digital print. Courtesy of the artist.
Andrew Kung (American, b. 1991). A River Runs Through It, 2022. Digital print. Courtesy of the artist.
Andrew Kung (American, b. 1991). Gift Exchange, 2023. Digital print. Courtesy of the artist.
Andrew Kung (American, b. 1991). All-American Soccer Team, 2023. Digital print. Courtesy of the artist.
Photo: Steven Paneccasio.
Photo: Steven Paneccasio.
