New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

painting

Forgotten Treasures in the Samuel L. Parrish Collection

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Madonna and Child with Bronzes by Tom EdmondsSamuel L. Parrish (1849 – 1932) was a prosperous NYC attorney who summered in Southampton on Long Island. He was born into a wealthy Quaker family in Philadelphia and attended Harvard, where he developed an interest in Italian art. After graduating, Parrish went to Italy for a year studying Classical and Renaissance art.

In 1877 he opened a very successful law practice in the city of New York. He visited friends and family in Southampton during the summer season and traveled to Italy regularly. While there he decided to open an art museum in Southampton. [Read more…] about Forgotten Treasures in the Samuel L. Parrish Collection

After Icebergs: A NY Artist’s 1859 Arctic Adventure

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after icebergs with a painterThe new edition of After Icebergs with a Painter A Summer Voyage to Labrador and around Newfoundland (Black Dome Press, 2022), by Louis Legrand Noble with an introduction by William L. Coleman, looks at an internationally renowned American artist of fame and fortune at the very peak of his powers.

A pastor and lauded writer with a sharp eye for revealing and humorous detail, Noble describes a journey fraught with danger and drama aboard the schooner Integrity to the latitudes where icebergs dwell with Hudson River School painter Frederic Church. [Read more…] about After Icebergs: A NY Artist’s 1859 Arctic Adventure

Museum Spotlight: Dia Beacon, Dutchess County

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Dia:BeaconDia Beacon, on the banks of the Hudson River in Beacon, Dutchess County, NY, is a museum of contemporary art with more exhibition space than Manhattan’s Guggenheim, Whitney Museum, and MoMA combined. [Read more…] about Museum Spotlight: Dia Beacon, Dutchess County

Edward Lange Long Island Artworks Sought For Research

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Winter scene by Edward LangeDuring the 1970s, staff at Preservation Long Island launched the first major effort to document all the known Long Island works by the artist Edward Lange who depicted local communities with precise detail during the 1870s and 80s. [Read more…] about Edward Lange Long Island Artworks Sought For Research

Manhattan’s Great Art Dealers: Some History

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Mary Mason Jones’ marble mansionManhattan’s 57th Street, the world’s “most expensive” street, was laid out and opened in 1857 as the city of New York expanded northward.

With the Hudson and East Rivers on either end, the area was until then largely uninhabited and clustered with small factories and workshops. As late as the 1860s, the area east of Central Park was a shantytown with up to 5,000 squatters.

Half a century later it was Manhattan’s cultural heart and an intercontinental meeting place of artists, collectors and dealers. [Read more…] about Manhattan’s Great Art Dealers: Some History

Joseph Pollet Self-Portrait Acquired by Woodstock Historical

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Joseph C. Pollet (1897–1979) “Self Portrait” after conservationBorn in Switzerland, Joseph C. Pollet (1897–1979) emigrated to New York City in 1911 from Albbruck, Germany. By age 21 he had a promising career as an advertising copywriter, while studying painting at the Art Students League with John Sloan, Robert Henri, and Homer Boss.

An important member of the Woodstock Art Colony, Pollet was best known for his portraits and realistic rural landscapes. He settled near Woodstock where he retained ties, even during the several years from 1954 until 1961 when he lived in Paris and Italy. In 1971, a fire destroyed nearly 150 of his paintings in his Greenwich Village studio. [Read more…] about Joseph Pollet Self-Portrait Acquired by Woodstock Historical

Artists Reflect On the Impact of Great Migration in New Exhibit

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A Movement in Every DirectionBetween 1915 and 1970, in the wake of racial terror during the post-Reconstruction period, millions of Black Americans fled from their homes to other areas within the South and to other parts of the country. This movement of people caused a radical shift in the demographic, economic, and sociopolitical makeup of the United States.

For instance, New York City — and particularly Manhattan — became home to hundreds of thousands of Black Americans during this time, catalyzing the start of the artistic and cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. [Read more…] about Artists Reflect On the Impact of Great Migration in New Exhibit

Celebrating Artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967)

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crossroads of rockland history2022 marks the 140th birthday of Edward Hopper (1882-1967). On the November episode of Crossroads of Rockand History, we learned about the events celebrating this important American artist, who was born in Nyack, in Rockland County, NY. [Read more…] about Celebrating Artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967)

Revelations From William Sidney Mount’s Long Island Paintings

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long island history project logoWilliam Sidney Mount was known for his keenly-observed portraits and scenes of everyday life on Long Island during the first half of the 19th century. He portrayed farmers, fiddlers, tradesmen, and workers in their natural haunts, laughing, singing, and enjoying life. [Read more…] about Revelations From William Sidney Mount’s Long Island Paintings