American Luminism Art and American Luminist Artists
(above: Sanford Gifford, A Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove), 1862, oil on canvas, 48 x 39 7/8 inches, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Maria DeWitt Jesup, from the collection of her husband, Morris K. Jesup, 1914. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*)
Introduction
This section of the Traditional Fine Arts Organization (TFAO) catalogue Topics in American Art is devoted to the topic "American Luminism Art and American Luminist Artists." Articles and essays specific to this topic published in TFAO's Resource Library are listed at the beginning of the section. Clicking on titles takes readers directly to these articles and essays. The date at the end of each title is the Resource Library publication date.
After articles and essays from Resource Library are links to valuable online resources found outside our website. Links may be to museums' articles about exhibits, plus much more topical information based on our online searches. Following online resources may be information about offline resources including museums, DVDs, and paper-printed books, journals and articles.
We recommend that readers search within the TFAO website to find detailed information for any topic. Please see our page How to research topics not listed for more information.
(above: James Augustus Suydam, Long Island, 1862, oil on canvas, Private collection. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*)
Articles and essays from Resource Library in chronological order:
Of Land and Sea: Alfred Thompson Bricher and William Trost Richards (12/16/10)
Sanford Gifford: A Discovery Joins a University Collection; article by Andrea S. Norris (12/12/08)
Luminosity: Paintings by Stephen Hannock (7/11/07)
Luminist Horizons: The Art and Collection of James A. Suydam (6/15/07)
Luminist Horizons: The Art and Collection of James A. Suydam (9/23/06)
An Eye for Maine: Paintings from a Private Collection; essay by Donelson Hooopes (11/30/04)
The Sublime Landscape (4/14/04)
Contemporary Romanticism: Landscapes in Pastel (5/5/99)
(above: Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900), Autumn Landscape, Sugar Loaf Mountain, Orange County, New York, c. 1870-75, oil on canvas, 28 1/2 x 35 1/2 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Purchase, The Bertram F. and Susie Brummer Foundation Inc. Gift, 1961. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*)
From other websites:
The Art Story defines Luminism as " a type of American landscape painting that became most prominent in the 1850s and lasted into the 1870s practiced among artists associated with the Hudson River School. The artists did not identify themselves as Luminists, as the term wasn't coined until 1954 when the art historian and director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, John I. H. Baur, used it to describe these naturalistic landscapes, often seascapes or river views, emphasizing the treatment of light to create a contemplative and luminous effect." Accessed 6/22
Encyclopædia Britannica says: "Paintings by the luminists are almost always landscapes or seascapes, particularly the latter, and are distinguished by a smooth, slick finish; cold, clear colours; and meticulously detailed objects, modeled by rays of light. In these paintings, the sky usually occupies about one-half of the composition, which is often in the format of a long rectangle. The works often show a geometric organization, with the edges of specific objects aligned parallel to the canvas edges." Accessed 6/22
Luminism from artlex.com. Accessed August, 2015.
Luminist paintings in California - landscape painters, Nov, 2001 by Alfred C. Harrison Jr., from Magazine Antiques.
Wikipedia says: " Luminism is an American landscape painting style of the 1850s to 1870s, characterized by effects of light in landscape, through the use of aerial perspective and the concealment of visible brushstrokes. Luminist landscapes emphasize tranquility, and often depict calm, reflective water and a soft, hazy sky. Artists who were most central to the development of the luminist style include Fitz Hugh Lane, Martin Johnson Heade, Sanford Gifford, and John F. Kensett. Painters with a less clear affiliation include Frederic Edwin Church, Jasper Cropsey, Albert Bierstadt, Worthington Whittredge, Raymond Dabb Yelland, Alfred Thompson Bricher, James Augustus Suydam, and David Johnson." Accessed 6/22
(above: David Johnson, View from
Garrison, West Point, New York, 1870, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of
Art. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*)
DVD/VHS videos:
American
Light: The Luminist Movement 1850-1875 is a 32
minute video released in 1989. It is lent free of charge through the National
Gallery of Art's Division of Education (go to NGA
Loan Materials Finder) John Wilmerding, former curator of American Art
at the National Gallery of Art, lends insight into the works examined, and
the artists who created Luminous works, with emphasis on four major artists:
Fitz Hugh Lane, John Frederick Kensett, Frederic Edwin Church, and Martin
Johnson Heade. "This film is based on the premise that there is something
unique about American light, as exemplified by a group of American painters
who captured light's remarkable effects on the vistas they painted. The
"luminists" worked in the years spanning 1850 through 1875, and
according to John Wilmerding, former curator of American Art at the National
Gallery of Art, they created paintings distinguished by certain characteristics:
a quality of silence that some scholars interpret as transcendental or mystical;
the frequent positioning of objects parallel to the picture plane; and an
overall effect that lends itself to intense contemplation. Wilmerding lends
insight into the works examined, and the artists who created them, with
emphasis on four major artists: Fitz Hugh Lane, John Frederick Kensett,
Frederic Edwin Church, and Martin Johnson Heade." (image courtesy NGA)
TFAO does not maintain a lending library of videos or sell videos. Click here for information on how to borrow or purchase copies of VHS videos and DVDs listed in TFAO's Videos -DVD/VHS, an authoritative guide to videos in VHS and DVD format
(above: John Frederick Kensett (American, 1816-1872). Hudson River Scene, 1857. Oil on canvas, 32 x 48 inches. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of H. D. Babcock, in memory of his father, S. D. Babcock, 1907. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*)
Note:
Other luminsists that do not have images shown here include:
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