“This world is but a canvas to our imagination” (Henry David Thoreau) The Sigal Museum announces a special art exhibition, Landscapes and Stills, showcasing the work of four regional masters. All sales benefit the Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society (NCHGS) and its Sigal Museum. The exhibit runs through August 10, is free with regular museum admission, or by appointment for buyers. Sigal Museum hours are: Sunday noon-4, and Tuesday-Saturday 10-4.
NCHGS’s works of art collection is locally and nationally significant in commemorating life, commerce, and culture of 18th – 20th century United States and the Lehigh Valley region. The more than one hundred art pieces of the collection document human shaping of the natural landscape, and include portraits of individuals of state and national renown. 19th century artists represented include Samuel Moon (1805-1860), known for portraits, landscapes, and imitations of old masters, Gustave Grunewald (1805-1878) acclaimed for his study of the human relationships with nature and technology, Reuben O. Luckenbach (1818-1880), whose work reflects the human experience during Pennsylvania’s industrial revolution, and Mary Maxwell McCartney (1813-1894) whose watercolours richly document early life in the county seat. This Landscapes and Stills exhibition features four 20th – 21st century artists who continue this tradition: William Christine, Thomas F. Burke, Robert Doney, and William Gothard. The works on show were donated to the historical society for exhibition and sale through the generosity of art and history patrons Richard and Susan Masters.
Thomas F. Burke
Artist and curator of this show, Thomas F. Burke, has taught several college art programs, was the corporate gallery director of the MCS Gallery, and enjoys a thriving painting restoration business. His landscapes are painted in the tradition of plein air, premier-coup style. “Painting in the landscape is an interesting opportunity to formulate a language which pays attention to form but does not lose the sensuality and expansiveness of nature.”
Robert Doney, who passed away in 2012 at the age of 89, studied at Pratt and Kutztown, then taught at several Pennsylvania school districts. He typically painted in the realistic style, using oils or pen and ink colored with watercolors, plein air or from memory. Doney was a familiar figure in locals along the east coast and beyond, as he set up his easel to capture the landscapes of Buck Hill Falls, Easton, Tatamy, Rehoboth Beach, New York City, and Italy.
William Christine has exhibited in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, known for his work in watercolor, acrylic and oil, and his often-used technique of translating from on site watercolor paintings into larger works of oil and acrylic.
Painting in oils, William Gothard typically focuses on aspects of the human condition through self-portraits, individual, and group portraits, and his unparalleled reputation in the art world rests on his portraitures over the decades. In the still lifes of this show, his ability to capture his subjects at a precise moment in time is equally evident and powerful.
About Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society & the Sigal Museum
The Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society was established in 1906 and continues to serve Northampton County PA and researchers throughout the world, by preserving, showcasing, exhibiting, and interpreting its more than 60,000 collection items of textiles, arts, and other artifacts telling the stories of life in Northampton County, PA. The Society maintains four locations in Easton, PA – the Mixsell House Museum at 4th and Ferry Streets, the Jacob Nicholas House Museum at 5th & Ferry Streets, the 1753 Bachmann Publick House at 2nd & Northampton Streets, and the Sigal Museum at 342 Northampton Street. To learn more, visit sigalmuseum.org
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