For the first time in many years, the Yager Museum of Art & Culture at Hartwick College is displaying selections from the art collection of Reverend Louis van Ess. The exhibition, titled "Louis van Ess: Portrait of a Collector," features more than 40 paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture.
The exhibition includes American paintings from the Hudson River School and the American Impressionists, which were acquired early in van Ess' collecting career, as well as a number of paintings from the Italian Renaissance and European prints, collected when van Ess' interests shifted. The exhibit captures the essence of Rev. van Ess's collecting career in both the range of artwork and excerpts from diaries and letters noting the sense of adventure and careful planning that underlie his choice of artwork.
In 1940, Louis van Ess (1897-1960) arrived in Oneonta to become the rector of St. James Episcopal Church. He was highly regarded by parishioners, and from 1941-60 he was a part-time professor in the History Department of Hartwick College. His contributions to the College included raising funds to buy books for the library and providing accommodations in his home for poor students. His legacy to the College, however, is in the collection of more than 80 prints, drawings, sculpture, and paintings. In a letter to the College's Board of Trustees, van Ess described his collection as: "…mostly Venetian Renaissance paintings of the first water together with some excellent American paintings by the best artists." He went on to write: "Oneonta will always be my home base and that as the bulk of the fortune was made here, it better stay here."
As an amateur collector, van Ess was not a man to take risks and did not collect examples of early 20th century modernism. His choices of American and Italian Renaissance paintings featuring landscapes and religious subject matter by established artists fit within an acceptable and safe framework. Oddly enough, although van Ess understood that the American works were by the "best artists," he believed that the Italian ones, such as those by Bellini, were superior. This assessment was not necessarily because of their religious subject matter, but because of the time and place of their creation. Forty-seven years later, tastes have changed and it is the American paintings by Hassam and Twachtman that are considered "of the first water."
The exhibition will be on view at the Yager Museum of Art & Culture through December 2007. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. For additional information, contact Yager Museum Coordinator Donna Anderson at 607-431-4423.
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Hartwick College is a private liberal arts and sciences college of 1,480 students, located in Oneonta, NY in the northern foothills of the Catskill Mountains. Hartwick's expansive curriculum emphasizes connecting the classroom to the world. Through personalized teaching, collaborative research, a unique January Term, a wide range of internships, and limitless study-abroad opportunities, Hartwick ensures that students are prepared for the world ahead. Strong financial aid and scholarship programs keep a Hartwick education affordable.
Contact: Christopher Lott
E-mail: lottc@hartwick.edu
Phone: 607-431-4030
