Church: A Painter’s Pilgrimage

October 22, 2017 – January 15, 2018

Updated Oct 21, 2017

Artist Frederic Church was the most popular and financially successful painter in mid-19th-century America, best known for his large paintings of wild places in North and South America, the North Atlantic and the Caribbean. But from the late 1860s until the late 1870s, many of his most important paintings represented ancient cities or buildings from his trip to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. While Church’s paintings of the New World subjects focused on nature, his Old World subjects explore human history. This exhibition brings together nearly all of Church’s most important paintings of the Middle East, Athens and Rome to explore what motivated this major shift in his artistic work.

“Syria by the Sea,” 1873, Frederic Church, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts.

Artist Frederic Church was the most popular and financially successful painter in mid-19th-century America, best known for his large paintings of wild places in North and South America, the North Atlantic and the Caribbean. But from the late 1860s until the late 1870s, many of his most important paintings represented ancient cities or buildings from his trip to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. While Church’s paintings of the New World subjects focused on nature, his Old World subjects explore human history. This exhibition brings together nearly all of Church’s most important paintings of the Middle East, Athens and Rome to explore what motivated this major shift in his artistic work.

Images

"El Khasneh, Petra,” 1868, Frederic Church, brush and oil on paperboard. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York. Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-485-a

"El Khasneh, Petra,” 1868, Frederic Church, brush and oil on paperboard. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York. Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-485-a

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“Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives,” 1870, Frederic Church, oil on canvas. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri Gift of the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation, F77–40/1

“Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives,” 1870, Frederic Church, oil on canvas. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri Gift of the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation, F77–40/1

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“Olana from the Southwest,” about 1872, Frederic Church, oil on paperboard. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York. Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-666

“Olana from the Southwest,” about 1872, Frederic Church, oil on paperboard. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York. Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-666

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“Parthenon at Night, Athens,” 1868, Frederic Church, oil and black chalk on paperboard. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York. Gift of Louis P. Church, OL.1917-4-671

“Parthenon at Night, Athens,” 1868, Frederic Church, oil and black chalk on paperboard. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York. Gift of Louis P. Church, OL.1917-4-671

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“Standing Bedouin,” 1868, Frederic Church, oil and graphite on paper. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum , New York. Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-752-a

“Standing Bedouin,” 1868, Frederic Church, oil and graphite on paper. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum , New York. Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-752-a

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“Syria by the Sea,” 1873, Frederic Church, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts.

“Syria by the Sea,” 1873, Frederic Church, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts.

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“The Parthenon,” 1871, Frederic Church, oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Bequest of Maria DeWitt Jesup, from the collection of her husband, Morris K. Jesup, 1914 (15.30.67)

“The Parthenon,” 1871, Frederic Church, oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Bequest of Maria DeWitt Jesup, from the collection of her husband, Morris K. Jesup, 1914 (15.30.67)

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“The Urn Tomb, Silk Tomb. and Corinthian Tomb, Petra,” 1868, Frederic Church, oil on paper mounted on canvas. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. OL.1981.52

“The Urn Tomb, Silk Tomb. and Corinthian Tomb, Petra,” 1868, Frederic Church, oil on paper mounted on canvas. Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. OL.1981.52

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“View of Baalbek,” 1868, Frederic Church, oil and pencil on board. Detroit Institute of Arts

“View of Baalbek,” 1868, Frederic Church, oil and pencil on board. Detroit Institute of Arts

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