EXHIBITIONS

Sharp Family Gallery
Olana State Historic Site
November 24, 2024 – March 30, 2025
Organized by The Olana Partnership

Overview

Frederic Church carefully studied the world around him, incorporating those observations into his paintings, guiding the viewer’s eye through his composed landscapes, and encouraging them to take A Closer Look. This winter, The Olana Partnership invites you to discover works of art through close looking, observation, and conversation. Unfolding over four months and featuring a series of four themed artwork installations, participants in A Closer Look will be encouraged to slow down, open their minds to discover Frederic Church’s art in new ways, and spend time in close dialogue with select artworks from the Olana collection.  

This winter, harness your powers of observation and join a series of special ‘close looking’ conversations.

During 45-minute guided dialogues, learn more about two to three works of art from Olana’s collection through visual analysis, personal reflection, and historical information. Discover how slowing down and focusing attention can foster deep connections with works of art, artists, and ourselves.

New works of art will be featured each month; no prior knowledge of art is required. Visit OLANA.org/acloserlook for the full schedule. Second-floor galleries require several flights of stairs and are not ADA accessible. Seating will be provided.

 No prior knowledge of art is necessary, and all are welcome.

A Closer Look Family Tour Series
Saturdays | 1:00 – 2:00 PM
January 18
February 22
March 22

Activities and conversation for the whole family. To learn more and register, click here.

December 
A Closer Look: Frederic Church’s Atmospheric Eye 
On view November 24, 2024 – January 5, 2025

Frederic Edwin Church, Rainbow Near Berchtesgaden, Germany, July-August 1868. Oil on paper mounted on canvas. 8 3/16 x 11 15/16 inches. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Olana State Historic Site, OL.1980.1883.A
Frederic Edwin Church, Aurora Borealis, c. 1865-66. Oil on canvas. 9 1/16 x 14 5/8 inches. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Olana State Historic Site, OL.1980.1879.A

Inspired by mid-19th century advances in the scientific study of natural phenomena, Frederic Church made repeated oil studies, sketches, and dramatic finished canvas paintings depicting atmospheric spectacles produced by the effects of sunlight, including rainbows, sunbeams, and the aurora borealis. In this first installation of the A Closer Look series, enjoy a close examination of two of Church’s intimate painted studies of these atmospheric phenomena.

Expert’s Eye Series
Join thought leaders for gallery conversations as they share what they see in selected works by Frederic Church.

The Sky and Beyond
Sunday, January 5 | 2:00-3:00pm
Unpacking our understanding of the cosmos with Avis Lang, former senior editor at Natural History magazine.  Learn more and register here.

January 
A Closer Look: Coming of Age in Catskill
On view January 10 – February 2, 2025

Frederic Edwin Church, Twilight Among the Mountains (Catskill Creek), 1845. Oil on canvas. 18 ⅛ x 24 inches. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Olana State Historic Site, OL.1981.25.A
Frederic Edwin Church, The Van Vechten House, Catskill, 1847. Oil on canvas. 22 ⅛ x 30 ¼ inches. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Olana State Historic Site, OL.1980.37.A

In this second installation of the A Closer Look series, observe two canvases painted by Frederic Church while under the guiding influence of his influential mentor Thomas Cole (1801-1848). See Church’s promising artistic talent at a young age—both paintings were completed before Church’s 21st birthday.  

Expert’s Eye Series
Join thought leaders for gallery conversations as they share what they see in selected works by Frederic Church.

Landscapes of Power
Saturday, January 25 | 2:00-3:00pm
Interrogating colonial histories and the reclamation of landscape with Rosanna Flouty, Director of the Program in Museum Studies at NYU.
Learn more and register here.

February 
A Closer Look: The Church Family Goes Camping 
On view February 7 – March 2, 2025

Jervis McEntee, Church’s Camp in Maine, c. 1879. Oil on canvas. 12 ¼ x 17 inches. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Olana State Historic Site, OL.1981.43.A
Frederic Edwin Church, Mount Katahdin from Upper Togue Lake, c. 1877-78. Oil on academy board. 8 ⅛ x 20 inches. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Olana State Historic Site, OL.1981.70.A

Frederic Church and the Church family’s love for the landscape and views surrounding Olana was perhaps only matched by their fondness for the forests, lakes, and coasts of Maine. In this third installation of the A Closer Look series, discover why Church’s paintings of Maine and its landscape and skies make up some of his most important images.

Expert’s Eye Series
Join thought leaders for gallery conversations as they share what they see in selected works by Frederic Church.

The Art of Camping
Saturday, March 1 | 2:00-3:00pm
Examining the relationship between 19th century outdoorsmen and Indigenous Peoples with Justin Wexler of Wild Hudson Valley.
Learn more and register here.

March 
A Closer Look: Fallen Trees and Forest Floors 
On view March 7-30, 2025

Frederic Edwin Church, Wood Interior at Mount Turner, c. 1877. Oil and graphite on paper mounted on canvas. 12 5/16 x 20 5/16 inches. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Olana State Historic Site, OL.1980.1869.A
Frederic Edwin Church, Wood Interior Near Mount Katahdin, c. 1877. Oil on paper mounted on canvas. 12 5/16 x 17 1/16 inches. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Olana State Historic Site, OL.1980.1871.A
Frederic Edwin Church, Mexican Forest – A Composition, 1891. Oil on canvas. 14 ⅛ x 20 ⅞ inches. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Olana State Historic Site, OL.1980.1925.A

Over decades, Frederic Church made detailed sketches recording trees and botanical details observed in the natural environment. The fourth and final installation of the A Closer Look series will focus on a set of sketches of forest floors that served as references for Church’s finished easel paintings, offering visitors an opportunity to observe the artist’s process. 

Expert’s Eye Series
Join thought leaders for gallery conversations as they share what they see in selected works by Frederic Church.

Church as Forest Ecologist
Saturday, March 29 | 2:00-3:00pm
Exploring Church’s ecological eye with Marc Wolf of Mountain Top Arboretum
Learn more and register here.