John Bristol and the Hudson River School Movement

by Delaynna Trim, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art Curator

Have you seen a painting showing the vastness of nature, that the landscape just keeps on going into the background? There is a good chance that it was part of the Hudson River School movement.

John Bunyan Bristol was part of the Hudson River School movement. He was born in Hillsdale, New York in 1826 – 200 years ago! His father was a shoemaker. He was a self-taught artist who began painting portraits but quickly switched to landscapes. He spent his summers painting the countryside of rural New England and the Adirondack and Green mountains. In 1859, John traveled to Florida to paint some more exotic paintings. He was a member of the National Academy of Design and the Century Association. His work hangs in the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, the Hudson River Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Adirondack Museum. He passed away on August 31, 1909, at the age of 83 after a stroke.

Bierstadt Notebook

The Hudson River School was not a physical school, but a group of artists with similar ideas. The Hudson River School artists focused on the American wilderness, particularly the Hudson River area around New York and Massachusetts. They created very detailed paintings focusing on the vast wilderness, and the powerful, awe-inspiring nature. This mid-19^th century art movement was influenced by Romanticism. Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole, and Frederic Church are all well-known members of the Hudson River School.

John Bunyan Bristol Lake St. Catherine

Not only does the MGMoA have a painting of the Matterhorn by Albert Bierstadt, but we have one of his sketchbooks. An artist typically does not want to drag large canvases, an easel, and paints with them as they hike into the wilderness, so sketchbooks are very important to help them capture the scene, so that they can recreate it back in their studio. Often the sketches are quick with little detail and a few notes as to the colors. 

  Art Project

Check out how to make your own sketchbook and other drawing activities at https://www.mgmoa.org/art-projects.

Create your own artist sketchbook

Supplies: Colored cardstock for cover, Paper, Needle and thread, Ruler, Push pin, Binder clips

1. Decide how many pages you want in your notebook. Fold the paper in half. You can use the back of a spoon to create a sharp edge.

2. Fold your colored cardstock for the cover.

3. Use your ruler to mark five evenly spaced points along the spine crease: one in the center, two on either side about 2 inches from the center, the last two near the top and bottom edges, about 1 inch from each end.

4. Hold the pages and cover together securely with binder clips to keep them from moving.

5. Use a push pin to carefully punch through all the layers at each marked point. These small holes will make stitching easier.

6. Cut a piece of thread about three times the height of your sketchbook and thread your needle.

7. Starting from the center hole on the inside of the book, push the needle through to the outside, leaving a small tail inside.

8. Move to the hole above or below (it doesn’t matter which) and pull the thread through. Continue sewing up and down through each hole, working toward one end.

9. When you reach the last hole at the top or bottom, reverse the direction and stitch back toward the center, filling any gaps.

10. Finish by bringing the thread back through the center hole where you started.

11. Tie a firm knot inside the book, trim the excess thread, and smooth the knot against the spine.

12. Now you can decorate the cover and start sketching!