.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
拍品專文
Sanford Robinson Gifford's masterful depictions of the nineteenth-century American landscape are exceptionally articulate visions of nature. Gifford's compositions, complemented by his inspired use of light and atmosphere to convey emotion, are among the most progressive of the period. A testament to Gifford’s ability to capture the ephemeral qualities of light and weather, A Sunrise on Lake George is both a stunning example of the artist’s masterful conception of Luminism and an emotional statement on post-Civil War America.
With the development of railroads and steamboats aiding the trip to Upstate New York and the attractive views of the Adirondacks, Lake George became an easily accessible and popular tourist attraction in the mid-1800s. The stunning region captured the imagination of America’s leading artists, becoming a destination for sketching trips. Serving in the seventh regiment of New York’s National Guard from 1861-63, Gifford sojourned to the beauty of the Adirondacks following his final tour. On this trip, he made the preparatory drawings that would lead to his A Coming Storm (Philadelphia Art Museum, Pennsylvania), a grey and stormy view of Lake George that seems to reflect the artist’s emotional distress following his service, as well as the loss of his younger brother, Edward, in the Civil War earlier that year.
According to Dr. Ila Weiss, the present work is Gifford’s revisitation and reimagination of his 1863 depictions of Lake George. In A Sunrise on Lake George, “the dominant mountain is further enlarged to loom dramatically, now answered by a secondary peak, invented at the left to cradle a reimagined effect of light — not the rising sun struggling to penetrate dense fog, but its spectacular emergence, painted thickly and emphatically with pinks and warm whites, obliterating the distance, dissolving contours, penetrating and illuminating the fog and clouds, casting both peaks in pink radiance above emphatic, angled shadows, and more evenly illuminating the whole scene.” (unpublished letter, 2025).
Painted in the decade following the Civil War, the present work portrays a brighter, sunnier view of Lake George than Gifford’s earlier depiction, alluding to the increasingly hopeful disposition of the country at large. Gifford likely returned to this imagery over a full decade later than his original conception because “the Civil War climate...was not conducive to the artist’s full realization—or to a patron’s commission—of a sunnier pendant, more placid in conception, such as A Sunrise on Lake George.” (K.J. Avery, F. Kelly, eds., Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2003, p. 155) Here, while the mountains in the distance are partially obscured by clouds, the bright morning sun peaks through, perhaps indicative of the sun rising upon a newly transformed nation. The bright reflections and calmness of the water further create the impression of a peaceful land, free from the harsh realities of war that were all too personal for the artist.
A Sunrise on Lake George not only reflects Gifford’s post-Civil War optimism, but additionally embodies his wider artistic vision and passion for capturing the grandeur of his native country. His works of the 1870s, such as the present work and other lake views like Mount Rainier, Bay of Tacoma—Puget Sound (1875, Seattle Art Museum, Washington), share a clarity and atmosphere that place Gifford among the most celebrated artists in American history. As Gifford’s contemporary George W. Sheldon lauded, “With Mr. Gifford landscape-painting is air painting; and his endeavor is to imitate the color of air.” (as quoted in I. Weiss, Poetic Landscape: The Art and Experience of Sanford R. Gifford, Newark, Delaware, 1987, p. 20) The present work visually manifests this sentiment, the atmospheric clouds shrouding the majestic mountains, with the hopeful light of sunrise breaking through and shining upon a newly idealized nation.
With the development of railroads and steamboats aiding the trip to Upstate New York and the attractive views of the Adirondacks, Lake George became an easily accessible and popular tourist attraction in the mid-1800s. The stunning region captured the imagination of America’s leading artists, becoming a destination for sketching trips. Serving in the seventh regiment of New York’s National Guard from 1861-63, Gifford sojourned to the beauty of the Adirondacks following his final tour. On this trip, he made the preparatory drawings that would lead to his A Coming Storm (Philadelphia Art Museum, Pennsylvania), a grey and stormy view of Lake George that seems to reflect the artist’s emotional distress following his service, as well as the loss of his younger brother, Edward, in the Civil War earlier that year.
According to Dr. Ila Weiss, the present work is Gifford’s revisitation and reimagination of his 1863 depictions of Lake George. In A Sunrise on Lake George, “the dominant mountain is further enlarged to loom dramatically, now answered by a secondary peak, invented at the left to cradle a reimagined effect of light — not the rising sun struggling to penetrate dense fog, but its spectacular emergence, painted thickly and emphatically with pinks and warm whites, obliterating the distance, dissolving contours, penetrating and illuminating the fog and clouds, casting both peaks in pink radiance above emphatic, angled shadows, and more evenly illuminating the whole scene.” (unpublished letter, 2025).
Painted in the decade following the Civil War, the present work portrays a brighter, sunnier view of Lake George than Gifford’s earlier depiction, alluding to the increasingly hopeful disposition of the country at large. Gifford likely returned to this imagery over a full decade later than his original conception because “the Civil War climate...was not conducive to the artist’s full realization—or to a patron’s commission—of a sunnier pendant, more placid in conception, such as A Sunrise on Lake George.” (K.J. Avery, F. Kelly, eds., Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2003, p. 155) Here, while the mountains in the distance are partially obscured by clouds, the bright morning sun peaks through, perhaps indicative of the sun rising upon a newly transformed nation. The bright reflections and calmness of the water further create the impression of a peaceful land, free from the harsh realities of war that were all too personal for the artist.
A Sunrise on Lake George not only reflects Gifford’s post-Civil War optimism, but additionally embodies his wider artistic vision and passion for capturing the grandeur of his native country. His works of the 1870s, such as the present work and other lake views like Mount Rainier, Bay of Tacoma—Puget Sound (1875, Seattle Art Museum, Washington), share a clarity and atmosphere that place Gifford among the most celebrated artists in American history. As Gifford’s contemporary George W. Sheldon lauded, “With Mr. Gifford landscape-painting is air painting; and his endeavor is to imitate the color of air.” (as quoted in I. Weiss, Poetic Landscape: The Art and Experience of Sanford R. Gifford, Newark, Delaware, 1987, p. 20) The present work visually manifests this sentiment, the atmospheric clouds shrouding the majestic mountains, with the hopeful light of sunrise breaking through and shining upon a newly idealized nation.