Object number1864.1.36
Sunrise on the Bernese Alps
Date1858
Artist
Sanford Robinson Gifford
(American, 1823-1880)
CultureAmerican
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 9 x 15 1/2 in. (22.86 x 39.37 cm)
Framed: 15 7/8 x 22 1/2 x 3 7/8 in. (40.32 x 57.15 x 9.84 cm)
Framed: 15 7/8 x 22 1/2 x 3 7/8 in. (40.32 x 57.15 x 9.84 cm)
Credit LineGift of Matthew Vassar
On View
On viewPeriod19th c
Classification(s)
SignedNot signed
BibliographyAvery, Kevin J. and Franklin Kelly, Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art 2003), repr. p 58, fig. 39;
Nobuyuki, Okabe, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College," (Japan: Yamagata Museum of Art, 2008) Cat. no. 11, p. 51;
All Seasons and Every Light, (Poughkeepsie: FLLAC, 1983), p. 55 repr.;
America and the Grand Tour: Sanford Robinson Gifford at Home and Abroad, (Poughkeepsie: FLLAC, 1991)
Phagan, Patricia, Past Time: Geology in European and American Art, (London: D Giles Limited, 2018) p.86-87. repr. p.87, fig. 28.ProvenanceCollections: Elias MagoonVassar Exhibitions
Exhibition HistoryIthaca, New York, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, "Past Time: Geology in European and American Art," February 16 - May 12, 2019. Cat. no. 28, repr.Poughkeepsie, New York, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, "Past Time: Geology in European and American Art," September 21 - December 9, 2018. Cat. no. 28, repr.
Japan, Shimane Art Museum, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," March 7 - May 11, 2008. Cat. no. 11, p 51.
Japan, Ishibashi Museum of Art, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," May 17 - July 20, 2008. Cat. no. 11, p 51.
Japan, Yamagata Museum of Art, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," July 30 - August 31, 2008. Cat. no. 11, p. 51.
Japan. Fuchu Art Museum, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," September 6 - November 3, 2008. Cat. no. 11, p. 51.
Japan, Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," November 14 - December 14, 2008. Cat. 11, p. 51.
Poughkeepsie, NY, FLLAC, Vassar College, "All Seasons and Every Light."
Poughkeepsie, NY, FLLAC, Vassar College, "America and the Grand Tour: Sanford Robinson Gifford at Home and Abroad," June 17 - April 9, 1991.
Poughkeepsie, NY, Vassar College Art Gallery, "All Seasons and Every Light" 14 Oct. - 16 Dec. 1983
Lincoln, MA, DeCordova and Dana Museum and Park, "All Seasons and Every Light" 5 Feb. - 25 March, 1984.
West Palm Beach, FL, Norton Museum of Art, "All Seasons and Every Light" 25 March - 1 July 1984.
Evanston, IL, Mary and Leigh Block Gallery, Northwestern University, "All Seasons and Every Light" 16 Nov. 1984 - 13 Jan. 1985.
Label TextPainter Sanford Robinson Gifford composed this oil sketch more than a year after his ascent up the glacial landscapes of the Bernese Alps, part of the immense mountain range bordering Switzerland. This journey fell midway through the artist’s tour of the United Kingdom and continental Europe between 1855-1857. In a letter to his father, Gifford set the stage for this climb, recounting his marvel at how the sunrise “threw a rich glow over the snow and peaks of the Bernese chain, whose magnificent panorama was spread out behind [him].” In the lower right corner, a group of monks winds through the alpine pass, perhaps traveling toward the Great Saint Bernard Hospice, where Gifford took lunch during his mountain journey. The Swiss Alps were a frequent object of study and envy for American intellectuals, especially when comparing the storied European peaks to smaller ranges in the Northeastern United States.
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