Six Modest Propositions

The New Hudson River School

1. All true art consists of a universal visual language through which human feelings are transmitted from soul to soul. A work of art is worthy in proportion to its ability to infuse another person with sincere emotion; it is great in proportion to its capacity to stir the deepest feelings of elevation and grandeur.
2. Art is not merely for art's sake. A painting has the power to please more than the eye. Brushstrokes, colors, lines and forms are merely the boards and nails of expression, not in themselves the habitation of beauty. Whenever a work draws undue attention to technical display, the opportunity to convey greater virtues — such as depth, atmosphere, or mood — is compromised. The object of the artist is to conceal artifice, thus making the image transparent to transcendence.
3. Close observation of nature is the foundation of landscape art. Subjects can be found everywhere, and they may be either sublime or commonplace. Plein air studies should be undertaken with the spirit of selflessness, diligence, and devotion, striving for the most truthful rendering possible. While working outdoors, one should avoid resorting to picture making conventions, for the artist cannot hope to improve on nature, only to be improved by her.
4. Vital as it is, plein air work is only the starting point of the landscapist, not an end in itself. Guided by imagination and memory, the artist develops a picture idea in the mind's eye, and then selects from the accumulated studies those elements needed to convey the mental image in terms of observable truth. In this way, the raw material of the real work is put in service to the more elusive goal of reflecting the imprint nature has left on the soul. This imprint might be called the sensation of the idea or the divine, which lies hidden beyond the veil of appearances.
5. We are proud to be kindred spirits with the artist pioneers Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, and Frederic Church, whose vision established the first and greatest American school of landscape painting. Our aim is not to reconstruct past styles, but to build new work for our times based on universal and timeless ideals.
6. As a realm for the painter, the Hudson Valley has no equal in the world, with its wild cataracts, brooding cloves, blazing foliage, glorious sunsets, mysterious forests, and tranquil waters. Protected as a park a century ago in 1904, the Catskill region has returned to a wilder state today than it was when Cole died in 1848. It is our quest to take up the bush and paint those pictures that have never yet been painted.