Workers put the finishing touches on the first traveling exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Thursday.
The Hudson River School: Nature and the American Vision will open to the public this weekend, and features 45 oil paintings from the 1800s. The paintings are on loan from the New York Historical Society.
"The oldest museum in New York visits the newest museum in the United States," says Linda Ferber, the vice president and senior art historian at the society. "People love these pictures, and when they come to the New York Historical Society, they want to see them."
Ferber organized the exhibition to follow the nation's growth, depicting breathtaking scenes discovered as the United States expanded its territory.
"These paintings offered a compelling vision of the benefits of manifest destiny," she says. "You could call it imperialism."
Ferber hopes the paintings help people see Crystal Bridges' permanent collection in a new light, as well as the beautiful scenery outside of the museum's walls.
"You refresh yourself physically and spiritually by communing with nature," she says. "Crystal Bridges is the perfect combination."
The exhibition invites visitors to take what they've learned about landscapes outside, encouraging them to take photos of the nature surrounding the museum.People can then submit the digital photographs to be displayed on a monitor in the gallery space.
Nature and the American Vision will be on display through September 4, and entry costs five dollars for anyone who isn't a member of the museum.
The Hudson River School: Nature and the American Vision will open to the public this weekend, and features 45 oil paintings from the 1800s. The paintings are on loan from the New York Historical Society.
"The oldest museum in New York visits the newest museum in the United States," says Linda Ferber, the vice president and senior art historian at the society. "People love these pictures, and when they come to the New York Historical Society, they want to see them."
Ferber organized the exhibition to follow the nation's growth, depicting breathtaking scenes discovered as the United States expanded its territory.
"These paintings offered a compelling vision of the benefits of manifest destiny," she says. "You could call it imperialism."
Ferber hopes the paintings help people see Crystal Bridges' permanent collection in a new light, as well as the beautiful scenery outside of the museum's walls.
"You refresh yourself physically and spiritually by communing with nature," she says. "Crystal Bridges is the perfect combination."
The exhibition invites visitors to take what they've learned about landscapes outside, encouraging them to take photos of the nature surrounding the museum.People can then submit the digital photographs to be displayed on a monitor in the gallery space.
Nature and the American Vision will be on display through September 4, and entry costs five dollars for anyone who isn't a member of the museum.
