Iconic American Landscape Artist Exhibit

The works of iconic American landscape artist Thomas Cole are on display at the Stedman Gallery at the Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts through Jan. 7.

“Wild Land:  Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Landscape Painting” explores the works of the 19th-century artist whose visionary ideas on the natural world heralded the sense of American identity that prevails today. The exhibition, which is free of charge and open to the public, takes visitors “into the woods” and through Cole’s studio, revealing the ways in which he, and other artists of his time, pioneered cultural conversations that shaped our national landscape—intellectually, physically, and visually.  

Through a combination of large-scale banner graphics, immersive environments, media features, and other interactive elements, “Wild Land” takes audiences on a journey with Cole through the story of his creative process. From an itinerant portrait artist to the founder of the Hudson River School, Cole transformed landscape sketches into a new vision of the American wilderness.

The Rutgers-Camden exhibition also examines how the meaning of nature has changed over time into a source for creative and intellectual inspiration. Visitors will be invited to explore the concept of preservation and how societies come to value and live in balance with natural resources, as well as Cole’s in forging America’s identity as a nation inextricably tied to nature.

The exhibition includes works by such contemporary American landscape painters as Michael Bartmann, Diane Burko, Daniel Chard, Randall Exon, Ann Lofquist, and Kyle Stevenson.

The Stedman Gallery is free and open to the public Mondays through Saturdays during 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursdays during 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.  The gallery is closed Nov. 24 to 27, and Dec. 24 to Jan. 2. 

The Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts is located on Third Street, between Cooper Street and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge on the Rutgers–Camden Campus.

For more information, visit rcaa.camden.rutgers.edu or call (856) 225.6245.

Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts programs are made possible in part with support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; the National Endowment for the Arts; The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; Campbell Soup Foundation; and other generous supporters.

“Wild Land: Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Landscape Painting” has been made possible by NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The exhibition was organized by the Thomas Cole National Historic Site/Cedar Grove in Catskill, New York and was adapted and toured by Mid-America Arts Alliance through NEH on the Road. NEH on the Road offers an exciting opportunity for communities of all sizes to experience some of the best exhibitions funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Mid-America Arts Alliance was founded in 1972 and is the oldest regional nonprofit arts organization in the United States. For more information, visit maaa.org or nehontheroad.org.