History You Can See
I was born and raised in the lower Hudson Valley and have spent the last four years of my life living in the middle and upper part of it. I never realized until I came to college and I started to learn about the art history of this area and how much certain painters like John Vanderlyn, and Frederic Church and Thomas Cole defined the Early American Art scene. Like most other students I learned about the post-civil war artist, Winslow Homer. In most scholarship, he is known mostly for his maritime paintings from his time in Maine and his beautiful figures. It wasn’t until I became involved with the Hurley Heritage society I never fully realized that Homer had been to places so close to where I’ve spent large formative parts of my life.
When studying history, there’s always been a small disconnect between famous historical figures and the places that they have been. There is still mythologizing around certain artists and their work that creates a distance and perpetuates a myth of genius. As an art history student, there is that moment of amazement when you directly find out about physical connections between art and place. It’s impressive when you can physically see the influence a site has on an artist. This is what makes local Art history so incredible, seeing the way that a place influenced these people enough that they changed vast amounts of history.
There are traces of Hurley and the surrounding areas throughout the work of Homer in the early to mid-1870s. Variations of flat farmlands, orchards, as well as the mountains and hills in the background, have a distinctly Hurley feel. Many of the buildings in his paintings resemble the stone houses that Hurley’s historic main street is known for. However, it is the 1872 painting Snap the Whip that genuinely shows the influence of Hurley, New York on Homer.
Two versions of the painting currently exist one that is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; the other is in Ohio at the Butler Institute of American Art. The two paintings have a series of boys playing during recess playing the game that gives the picture its title. Enjoying themselves before they have to go back inside to continue their lessons. At this point, in the 1870s, the one-room schoolhouse was outdated but painted in a post Civil War era, it was an attempt to be nostalgic and call back on a simpler time for a generation that had just fought a war. The only difference between the two is the few extra children and the backgrounds of the paintings. Both are individual to each of the two versions, with details that mark it explicitly as Hurley. The white steeple of the Hurley Reformed Church can be seen in the distance of the painting at the MET, and Hurley Mountain Hill can be seen in the background of the other which is located at The Butler Institute.
The most definite sign of the influence of Hurley is the red one-room schoolhouse. This building was the first Hurley School and still stands today as a private residence. It has been added on to since then, but the original building still stands as part of its structure. This building located roughly 30-minute drive from the Suny New Paltz campus. The School has been converted into a private home, but it is possible to see some of the perspectives and the apparent influence that this small Hudson Valley town had on one of America’s most famous painters.
The first image is the Painting at the Butler Institute and the second is at the MET.
