Vibe-Fall-2024 - Flipbook - Page 22
ON THE COVER
Saco River, North Conway 1874, Benjamin Champney, (1817-1907) Oil on Canvas, Dimensions: H-24 W-36 inches.
Property of the New Hampshire Historical Society.
This classic example of Benjamin Champney’s work depicts a scene familiar to present-day golfers in North Conway. A bend
in the Saco River on the south side of the
North Conway Golf Course. Painted at the
peak of Champney’s career, this painting
highlights some of his classic techniques.
It also depicts a classic theme in the
White Mountain School of Art: the beauty of
the American landscape and man living in
harmony with it. Champney was a master
at painting water and is known for warm
autumn colors, especially a certain burnt
orange. He sought to “arrange a picture
with contrasts of light, shade and color”
and to avoid excessive detail.
His mountains are solid and foreboding, yet painted with a light purple-grey
shadow effect, with minimal detail. This
adds to the perception of depth. The sky
is also a study in shading. Note the fine
foliage in his trees, the use of bright white
highlights in the foreground. It is all brought
together in perfect balance.
earlier formal portrait and primitive landscape painting. When
these paintings were exhibited in the major cities of the East
Coast, wealthy, adventurous young men—and later young
women—traveled by carriages to view this majestic landscape
in person. At first, the only lodgings available were farmhouses.
But soon, taverns and small inns were built; by mid-century,
came the advent of the grand hotels.
Once the urban tourists became familiar with the White
Mountain landscapes, they desired more realistic depictions of
the vistas, showcasing, with less drama, their inherent beauty.
The artists obliged, transitioning from paintings of dramatic
rugged wilderness to the simpler glory of the mountains and
streams that the summer tourists were enjoying. This period
of American Romanticism in the Hudson River School and the
White Mountain branch differed from the European Romantic
period by focusing almost exclusively on the wonders of the
new American frontier and its majestic landscapes, instead of
the Euro-centric focus on castles and Greek temples crumbling
on a far hillside. The early tourists wanted paintings they could
display in their parlors in the city to show their friends where
they had spent their summer, and perhaps, even the mountain
they had climbed. These “postcards” from the White Mountains
might be a small painting on a board the size of a paperback
book bought directly from the artist in the lobby of a grand
hotel or inn, or a large canvas commissioned from the artist to
be painted back in their Boston or New York studio.
The White Mountain style continued to be popular after the
Civil War, but adjusted to the changing taste in art. By 1886,
Claude Monet (1840-1926) was establishing the Impressionist
movement in France. Members of the White Mountain School
were traveling to Europe and bringing back the Barbizon and
Impressionist styles and using them in their paintings. At this
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time, a much freer brush stroke can be seen in their works, with
more focus on the play of natural light and shadows and the
laying down of high-keyed colors on the canvas that sought to
capture the fleeting emotion, or “impression” of a scene.
The subjects also changed from the large American landscape to more intimate scenes, a babbling brook, a single cliff
face, or a small bend in a river. The style evolved but the locations remained the same, just more intimate. This new second
generation of the school was well received and highly collectible. By the turn of the century, we see painters in the White
Mountains experimenting with different styles of Luminism,
Tonalism, and Impressionism. But, it is the New Hampshire
mountain subject matter, not the style, that defines the White
Mountain School. Man living in balance with nature where nature takes center stage.
* “Crackbone” was a nickname Champney was never known to
use himself on any document or correspondence. It is a family
name passed down from his maternal great-grandmother, Abigail
Crackbone. The Champney family believes it comes from a Native
American ancestor.
In July, 2024, with the mission of bringing the paintings of the
White Mountain School of Art back to the Valley, Paul Mayer
opened the White Mountain Museum and Gallery, a NH not-forprofit, located in the center of North Conway. Expanding on the
collection at the Jackson Historical Society, the new museum
exhibits an additional 80 oil paintings of scenes of the local area
from the 1800s. An avid collector, Paul is eager to share his love
of this art with residents of the Valley as well as with
visitors to the area. www.whtmtn.art
MWVvibe.com
