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Keene State College's Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery to Host Presentation and Q&A with Landscape Artist and Curator

View of the Round-Top in the Catskill Mountains,   a photograph of an oil painting
View of the Round-Top in the Catskill Mountains, a photograph of an oil painting

Thomas Cole Landscape Art on Display and Open for Viewing

Keene, NH, June 22, 2012: Keene State College’s Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery welcomes Bob Cottrell, curator and specialist in Thomas Cole’s art, and Erik Koeppel, New Hampshire landscape artist to discuss the legacy and influence of Thomas Cole’s landscape art. The presentation, which will be followed by a question and answer session, is occurring in conjunction with two special landscape art exhibits at the Thorne Gallery - “Wild Land: Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Landscape Painting” and “Illuminating Landscapes and Recent Gifts”, which shows Thomas Cole’s influence on American landscape art.

When and where: Presentation begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 28, 2012. Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery Conference Room, Keene State College

Light refreshments will served after the program, and the gallery will be open to visitors from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

This event and exhibit are free and open to the public. Seating is limited.

Background: According to the National Endowment for the Arts, “For over two centuries after their arrival, European Americans viewed the continent’s untamed lands as an unknown to be feared and conquered. But in the summer of 1825, a young painter named Thomas Cole (1801-1848) traveled up the Hudson River to spend a month sketching in the Catskill Mountains. What he conceived there not only transformed the way American artists depicted nature and generated the United States’ first major art movement but also became a powerful expression of a youthful nation’s growing cultural self-confidence.” More on Thomas Cole can be found on the National Endowments for the Arts website.

Presenter Bob Cottrell, the Curator of the Henney History Room at the Conway Public Library, specializes in the work of Thomas Cole. Mr. Cottrell will discuss the history and legacy of Cole and how it impacts landscape painting today. His program “reframes” Cole’s art within its original contexts and uses modern technologies such as satellite photographs and extensive work in the field to re-learn the true meaning of his work.

Presenter and artist Erik Koeppel, who has work on display at the Thorne Gallery, will speak about the relationship between Thomas Cole’s work and his own. The discussion will focus on content, and the difference between painting what you see and painting the poetry of a human experience.

The exhibits, “Wild Land: Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Landscape Painting” and “Illuminating Landscapes and Recent Gifts” will be on display at the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery until July 29, 2012. More detail on these exhibits can be found online.

About Keene State College

Keene State College is a preeminent public liberal arts college that ensures student access to world-class academic programs. Integrating academics with real-world application and active community and civic engagement, Keene State College prepares graduates to meet society’s challenges by thinking critically, acting creatively, and serving the greater good. To learn more about Keene State College, visit www.keene.edu.

Keene State College: Wisdom to make a difference.

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