UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Palmer Museum of Art will present a new exhibition titled "Asher B. Durand: To Begin Again" from Sept. 5 through Dec. 10. Focusing on the early career of this leading artist of the Hudson River School, the centerpiece of the exhibition is Durand’s first commissioned landscape painting, "Boonton Falls, New Jersey," which the museum recently acquired.
Durand, who worked primarily as an engraver and an occasional portraitist in the 1820s, began to pursue landscape painting in earnest in the 1830s, gaining prominence by midcentury. This exhibition investigates Durand’s transition from engraver to landscape painter in light of this rediscovered — and newly cleaned — picture, addressing its critical reception, the circumstances of the commission, and the rising cultural relevance of landscape painting in 19th-century America. The exhibition also includes more than two dozen paintings and engravings by Durand from both public and private collections.
Adam Thomas, curator of American art, will lead a Gallery Talk titled "Asher B. Durand: To Begin Again" at 12:10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22, in the exhibition gallery located on the museum’s first floor.
All programs are held at the Palmer Museum of Art and are sponsored by the Friends of the Palmer Museum of Art unless otherwise noted.
Also on view at the Palmer Museum of Art this fall are "New Acquisitions: Minna Citron after Atelier 17," Sept. 5 through Dec. 10; and "BIG Deal: Sizeable Paintings from the Permanent Collection," Sept. 5 through Dec. 17.
The Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State is located on Curtin Road and admission is free. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays and some holidays. The museum will have modified hours of noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18, through Sunday, Nov. 26; and Saturday, Dec. 16, through Thursday, Dec. 21. The museum will be closed Thursday, Nov. 23; Friday, Nov. 24; and Friday, Dec. 22, through Monday, Jan. 1, 2018.
The Palmer Museum of Art receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.