Sanford Gifford Creates “Darkness Visible”

John Walsh
Friday, November 10, 2017, 1:30 pm
Sanford Gifford (1823-1880) drew and painted the scenic spots favored by Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, which, by then, had become very famous. In his Twilight in the Catskills of 1861, Gifford used his imagination and his ability as a painter of light to create a solemn, disturbing vision, the meaning of which goes beyond the usual boundaries of landscape painting. Generously sponsored by the Martin A. Ryerson Lectureship Fund.
In each lecture in this series, John Walsh selects an American painting in the Gallery’s collection and examines the similarities and differences between depiction and reality, returning to the painter’s original vantage point in an attempt to work out just what happened when he returned to the studio.
Note: This lecture is the third in the series American Views, Viewpoints, and Manipulations.