ABOUT THE PROJECT

This digital exhibition was created by the students of “Adirondack Arts and Archives,” a First-Year Seminar taught by English professor Mark Sturges. As part of a visual artifact project, classes examined materials related to the Adirondacks and St. Lawrence River Valley that are owned by St. Lawrence University and housed in the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery and Owen D. Young Library’s Special Collections.

Each student selected a painting, print, map, or material object; conducted research on the artist, medium, content, and context; and wrote an interpretive text panel to accompany a digital image of the visual artifact. The end result is a digital exhibition that showcases a variety of visual representations of the Adirondacks and St. Lawrence River Valley available to students and the public at St. Lawrence University. We hope it inspires viewers to visit the university and experience the aura and artistry of these visual artifacts in person, to sit or stand in their physical presence and recall that the world has more depth and meaning than the surface of a digital screen. The students would like to thank gallery and library staff Catherine Tedford, Carole Mathey, and Paul Doty for collaborating on this project.

FEATURED WORK:

Robert Walp, Peak to Peak: Verplanck Colvin and the First Years of the Adirondack Survey

VISUALIZING THE ADIRONDACKS AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY Robert Walp, Peak to Peak: Verplanck Colvin and the First Years of the Adirondack Survey abby curtin, Spring 2023 ABOUT THE ARTWORK Peak to Peak is a multifaceted art book created by Robert Walp to showcase Verplanck Colvin’s contributions to the region. Colvin (1847-1920) was a self-taught…

Verplanck Colvin, The Crest of The Gothics – View Southward

VISUALIZING THE ADIRONDACKS AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY Verplanck Colvin, The Crest of The Gothics – View Southward Hayden beyer, Spring 2023 ABOUT THE ARTWORK A prominent figure in the history of the Adirondacks, Verplanck Colvin (1847-1920) spent the majority of his working life surveying the mountains. During these surveys, Colvin would produce multiple drawings…

Verplanck Colvin, Adirondack Survey: Specimen of Preliminary Reconnaissance Sketch

VISUALIZING THE ADIRONDACKS AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY Verplanck Colvin, Adirondack Survey: Specimen of Preliminary Reconnaissance Sketch William Stinson, Spring 2023 ABOUT THE ARTWORK Verplanck Colvin was a surveyor from upstate New York who conducted extensive examinations of the topographic characteristics of the Adirondack Mountains in the latter half of the nineteenth century. He led…

Charles Ingham, Trap Dyke, at Avalanche Lake

VISUALIZING THE ADIRONDACKS AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY Charles Ingham, Trap Dyke, at Avalanche Lake Paul Champagne, Spring 2023 ABOUT THE ARTWORK This image of the Trap Dyke on Avalanche Pass was one of fifteen sketches created by Charles C. Ingham in the mid-nineteenth century. J.H. Bufford, stamped in the bottom right, was the name…

Sue Ellen Herne , Our Spirits Don’t Belong Here

VISUALIZING THE ADIRONDACKS AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY Sue Ellen HerneOur Spirits Don’t Belong Here Abigail Smith, Spring 2023 ABOUT THE ARTWORK Sue Ellen Herne is a contemporary Mohawk artist from the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory in upstate New York.  Herne works with paintings and mixed media such as quilts and traditional Mohawk compositions. Many of…

Tehanetorens (Aren Akweks/Ray Fadden), Ka-hon-hes (Kahionhes/John Fadden), The Vicious Cycle of Indian-White Relationships on the Frontier

VISUALIZING THE ADIRONDACKS AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY Tehanetorens (Aren Akweks/Ray Fadden), Ka-hon-hes (Kahionhes/John Fadden) The Vicious Cycle of Indian-White Relationships on the Frontier Berit Brecke, Spring 2023 ABOUT THE ARTWORK Ray Fadden and John Fadden were a father-son duo whose work represented Haudenosaunee history and culture. Their work in the mid-twentieth century sought to…

Rockwell Kent, Eternal Vigilance Is the Price of Liberty

VISUALIZING THE ADIRONDACKS AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY Rockwell Kent, Eternal Vigilance Is the Price of Liberty Colin Wanat, Spring 2023 ABOUT THE ARTWORK Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) was one of the most popular and influential artists to live in the Adirondacks; however, some of his political ideas conflicted with the artwork he created. Apart from…

Harold Weston, Haystack – Winter

VISUALIZING THE ADIRONDACKS AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY Harold Weston, Haystack– Winter Emerson M. Brott, Spring 2023 ABOUT THE ARTWORK Harold Weston was a prominent twentieth-century modernist painter whose work experimented with realism, expressionism, and abstractionism. Weston lived most of his life in the Adirondacks and is known to have craved a more raw, intimate…

Harold Weston, Frost before Night

VISUALIZING THE ADIRONDACKS AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY Harold Weston, Frost before Night Adeline Riesenberger, Spring 2023 ABOUT THE ARTWORK Renowned American painter Harold Weston (1894-1972) grew up visiting his grandfather’s camp in the Adirondacks and hiking near Lower Ausable Lake. This wilderness region inspired many of his artworks within his lifetime. He climbed the…