George Inness (1825-1984), ‘Sunset,’ 1892 oil on panel. Museum purchase; prior bequest of James Turner and prior gifts of Dr. Arthur Hunter, Mrs. Charles C. Griswold, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Kasser, Dr. and Mrs. John J. McMullen, Mrs. Siegfried Peierls, John Ritzenthaler and anonymous donors, 1994.27
MONTCLAIR, N.J. – George Inness: Visionary Landscapes showcases a significant new installation of the Montclair Art Museum’s (MAM’s) world-renowned George Inness collection, described by leading Inness scholar Dr. Adrienne Baxter Bell as the “greatest Inness collection in the world.” The show will be on view in the museum’s George Inness Gallery until June 30, 2024.
For the first time at MAM, Inness’ work will be displayed in a salon-style hanging, with paintings filling the walls of the gallery from floor to ceiling. This style of hanging was the norm in the early 20th century, with paintings of varying sizes and genres filling the walls of salon exhibitions across Western Europe and the U.S. By utilizing this style of hanging, MAM will be able to exhibit the majority of Inness works in its permanent collection all at one time, several of which will be on view for the first time in many years.
Installation shot of the salon-style layout of George Inness: Visionary Landscapes. Photo credit Peter Jacobs
Regarded by his contemporaries as the foremost American landscape artist, George Inness was inspired by the natural beauty of Montclair, where he resided from 1885 to 1894. In the years following his death in 1894, several of Inness’s paintings and works on paper, along with a set of his brushes and a palette, were given to the Montclair Art Museum.
George Inness (1825-1894), ‘Winter Morning, Montclair,’ 1882 oil on canvas. Gift of Mrs. Arthur D. Whiteside, 1961.1
Today, MAM’s comprehensive Inness collection is comprised of more than 20 of the artist’s paintings and works on paper. George Inness: Visionary Landscapes highlights works selected from this collection, and will feature a major recent Inness acquisition, titled Twilight, from 1875. Every important period of Inness’ career is represented in this exhibition, from his earliest, more realist works of the 1840s, rooted in European landscape conventions, to his final, more abstract expressions that represent his belief in the total unity of material and spiritual existence.
Visit the website of the Montclair Art Museum (MAM) and see its dedicated page for George Inness: Visionary Landscapes.
