The exhibition examines the artistic and cultural context in which William Morris Hunt (American, 1824-1879) produced his painting Niagara Falls (1878). The exhibition reunites nine of Hunt’s studies in oil, pastel, and charcoal that show Niagara Falls from various perspectives while closely examining the Falls within Hunt’s body of work. Using Frederic Edwin Church’s oil sketch of the Falls from the Olana State Historic Site, additional artwork, rare books, maps, photographs, and souvenirs, this exhibition traces the evolution of Niagara Falls as an inspirational icon to an emblem of environmental activism.
This exhibition, and three others, including, Alec Soth: NIAGARA, William Morris Hunt and the French Tradition, and Media Field: Niagara, contrast historical and contemporary views of Niagara Falls and put the Falls into a broader context about art and landscape.
