Visions of the Susquehanna

An 80 page soft-cover exhibition catalog for the traveling Exhibition, "Visions of the Susquehanna: 250 Years of Paintings by American Masters." The book features an introductory essay by curator/editor Rob Evans as well as essays by David J. Dearinger, Susan Morse Hilles Curator of Paintings and Sculpture, Boston Athenaeum, and Leo G. Mazow, Curator of American Art, Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University.

Comprised of approximately 40 major paintings spanning nearly 250 years, this exhibit included two groups of work. The first was a cross section of the many important images of the river created in the mid 18th century through the early 20th century, including works by such prominent American painters as Benjamin West, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Sanford Robinson Gifford, George Inness, Thomas Moran, Charles Demuth, Stephen Etnier and others. The other group consisted of paintings of or about the river by a group of nationally prominent contemporary artists (Mark Innerst, Leonard Koscianski, George Sorrels, Debra Bermingham, Randall Exon, Peter Paone, Raoul Middleman, Mark Workman, Rob Evans, Matthew Daub, and others), many of whom agreed to create works specifically for this exhibit. While linked by the common thread of the Susquehanna, the exhibit also examined the contrasting points of view between these two very different groups of work: the 18th and 19th century romantic view of the sublime landscape as a metaphor for America's promise versus the current postmodern role of the landscape as an open ended and often detached vehicle for presenting a multitude of perspectives and critiques on contemporary culture, investigating such issues as environmental decay, nuclear energy, and urban sprawl.