February 22, 2025–Ongoing

Painting in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century often focused on solitary, contemplative experiences. These were a departure from the very dramatic or “sublime” landscapes of the earlier part of the nineteenth century, and instead of awe or fear, they capture a sense of calm and stillness, even a spiritual connection that can be found when alone in the natural world. Scenes tended to be simple, such as pastures, woods, or lone figures, and can be understood as a response to the trauma of the Civil War and the rapid rise of industrialization. Coined Tonalists, the group of artists who produced such paintings sometimes equated their scenes to the experience of listening to music; James Abbott McNeil Whistler even used musical titles such as Nocturne and Symphony. To heighten these sensibilities, artists reduced their palettes to more nuanced tones and compositions are often misty or shadowy, capturing scenes at twilight or dawn, with subjects emerging from darkness.

George Inness, Farm Landscape, Cattle in Pasture—Sunset Nantucket, ca. 1883. Oil on panel. Bequest of Mrs. Henry A. Everett, 1938.3.