Themes

Landscapes

This collection of works highlights the many ways land has served as a source of inspiration for generations of artists across time—for its beauty, its resources, its embattled histories, its social and economic implications, and its capability for both destruction and rebirth.

For some artists, landscapes offer moments to revel in or contemplate the sublime. For others, landscapes bring the delicate balance of life into focus.

Artists have looked to the land to understand society’s place in the world and the many unjust human histories that have resulted from conquest, cultivation, and “progress.”

More recently, artists are considering the hand we all play in preserving the land for others by depicting the ecological toll that human industry has played on our environment. Through a variety of media and styles, these works pay deep respect to our lands and invite in reflection and consideration. 

Landscapes was organized by Connie H. Choi, Curator.

Untitled (Landscape, France), 1951
Oil on canvas25 1/2 × 32 in. (64.8 × 81.3 cm)The Studio Museum in Harlem; gift of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph French1979.4

For some artists, landscapes offer moments to revel in or contemplate the sublime. For others, landscapes bring the delicate balance of life into focus.

Artists have looked to the land to understand society’s place in the world and the many unjust human histories that have resulted from conquest, cultivation, and “progress.”

More recently, artists are considering the hand we all play in preserving the land for others by depicting the ecological toll that human industry has played on our environment. Through a variety of media and styles, these works pay deep respect to our lands and invite in reflection and consideration. 

Landscapes was organized by Connie H. Choi, Curator.

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