[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 169 (Friday, December 28, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S8506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING THE HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL OF PAINTING

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, in 2010, Senators Gillibrand and 
Schumer passed a resolution honoring the Hudson River School painters 
for their contributions to the United States. Today, I join my 
colleagues in paying tribute to this significant, historic artistic 
movement and recognize its ties to Connecticut.
  The Hudson River School of Painting originated in the Hudson River 
Valley in the 1920s and consists of landscapes featuring highly 
detailed and realistic scenes of American wilderness. Painters 
attributed to this style include Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, Jasper 
Cropsey, Sanford Robinson Gifford, George Inness, Worthington 
Whittredge, Albert Bierstadt, and Thomas Morgan.
  Two of the most influential painters of the Hudson River School have 
Connecticut roots: John Kensett and John Frederic Church. Born in 
Cheshire, Kensett worked in New Haven as an engraver and traveled 
throughout New England, painting scenes of his cherished homeland. At 
his home on Contentment Island near Darien, he painted some of his most 
notable works. Church was born in Hartford and became famous for his 
landscapes of exotic locales of South America, Western Europe, and the 
Middle East.
  The Long Island Sound--a treasure of Connecticut and the East Coast--
was a common subject lovingly portrayed by Hudson River School 
painters, in particular by Kensett, who would frequent the Sound to or 
from his studio in Darien. Famously, Kensett's ``Twilight in the Cedars 
at Darien,'' portrays a serene sun setting over a dense swath of forest 
in Connecticut.
  The Hudson River School has not only inspired painters for 
generations, but led to the development of the National Park Service 
under President Theodore Roosevelt. In Connecticut and throughout the 
Nation, this influential style has inspired environmental conservation 
efforts historically and to the present day.
  These beautiful, idyllic landscapes, untouched by man, inspire us to 
protect our land, air, and water; future generations must not look at 
these paintings as ancient artifact. Connecticut is closely tied to the 
Hudson River School, and we must continue to preserve its legacy now 
and in the future by learning more about the School and its painters. I 
encourage my colleagues and their constituents to engage in this 
worthwhile pursuit.

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