Throughout history, people have turned to nature in search of beauty and quiet, though each generation expresses this impulse differently. The original Byrdcliffe inhabitants were followers of the Arts and Crafts movement, itself a reaction to the impersonal mechanization of the Industrial Revolution—its noise, pollution, and repetitive factory labor.

That movement arose in a time of profound change: the invention of photography and

the steam engine, the spread of Darwinism, the rise of communism, and the

migration of workers from farms to cities. Our present moment is also defined

by upheaval, with the earth itself taking center stage. No longer can we take

her for granted; we must embrace change or face the consequences.

Today, amid the ubiquity of the internet, the rise of AI, and the erosion of trust in

images, we look to the natural world for stability—for a connection to what is

real, and for a sense of awe and wonder.

This exhibition brings antique landscape paintings from the Byrdcliffe collection

into dialogue with fifty contemporary landscape photographs by fifteen women

artists, all rooted in the shared space of the Hudson Valley.

Byrdcliffe Artists:

Victor Anderson, John F. Carlson, Birge Harrison, Agnes Richmond, Zulma Steele

Contemporary Artists:

Gail Albert, Joan Barker, Ana Bergen, Nancy Donskoj, Jill Enfield, Mary Ann Glass,

Lori Grinker, Maria Fernanda Hubeaut, Kay Kenny, Dorothea Marcus, Dana Matthews, Meryl Meisler, Susan Phillips, Carla Shapiro, Kelly Sinclair, Ruth Wetzel