Art of the White Mountains

Beginning in the first decades of the 19th century, artists and writers were drawn to the pristine beauty of northern New Hampshire's natural wonders. The singular topography of the White Mountains inspired early landscapists including Thomas Doughty, Thomas Cole, and Benjamin Champney, later masters Winslow Homer and George Inness, and 20th-century modernists such as William Zorach. This exhibition will examine the allure of the White Mountains for artists for over a century and a half. Works ranging from sketches of the region’s flora and geological formations to panoramic vistas of the expansive landscape will be featured in a selection of more than 30 oil paintings, drawings, prints, watercolors, sketchbooks, photographs, and rare books. Rarely seen gems by Alvan Fisher, Jasper Cropsey, and Robert S. Duncanson will be joined by more widely known views by George Inness and Sanford Gifford to underscore the importance of the White Mountains in the American landscape tradition. IMAGE: Lancaster, New Hampshire, 1862, by Robert S. Duncanson. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.