Great Rivalries
Questroyal Fine Art features famous and underappreciated artists at its annual Hudson River School show
An exhibition of Hudson River School paintings has been an annual tradition at Questroyal Fine Art for over 20 years, but this year the show—called Ten Great American Painters and their Brilliant Rivals—has a bit of a twist.
Familiar names like Frederic Church,
Thomas Cole,albert Bierstadt and Sanford Robinson Gifford will hang on the gallery walls as they do every year, but they will be accompanied by the works of Hudson River School painters who didn’t receive the same notoriety during their careers.while the names Jervis Mcentee, John William Casilear and David Johnson might not ring as many bells, they produced many high-quality paintings that could go toe-to-toe with the works of their better known contemporaries.
“On any given day, these rivals could produce a work that would be on par with one of the greats,” says Questroyal Fine Art owner Lou Salerno.“it’s fun to look at them and see that in context.”
The exhibition will feature more than130 paintings by the Hudson River School greats and their less famous friends. From Jasper Francis Cropsey comes October on the Hudson, featuring a view of sailboats on the river among autumn foliage. Hermann Herzog— one of the “rivals”—is represented by Morning Fisherman, depicting a lone man walking alongside the riverbank in the early morning light.
Salerno says,“we’re trying to demonstrate that in many of these cases there’s just a hairline difference in quality between the very good painter and the brilliant painter. But there’s a big disparity in price.a discerning collector could end up making a very good buy if they are willing to take an example by a painter that may be a bit less famous than one of the greats.”
The paintings on view don’t just come from a diverse group of artists, they also feature diverse scenery.“there’s a lot of misconceptions about the Hudson River School,” Salerno says. “People think that the paintings are just
of or near the Hudson River, but really, they’re American landscapes painted almost anywhere in the country, from the eastern tip of Long Island to out into the American West.”
Bierstadt’s Pass Into the Rockies— which was once owned by Walt Disney—provides a window to the West, portraying the dramatic, sunlit face of a mountain while storm clouds gather above.the gallery will also show a rare beach scene from Thomas Moran, featuring a storm brewing up in the Hamptons.
“This show has become a bit of a tradition for collectors that are interested in Hudson River School paintings, and in the past, we’ve had collectors come from all across the country,” Salerno says.“this year, we’re including many artists that we haven’t had at previous shows.there’s a lot of depth and a lot of diversity.”
Ten Great American Painters and Their Brilliant Rivals opens with a reception on March 6 and remains on view at Questroyal through March 28.