On the Horizon

Art and Atmosphere in the Nineteenth Century

November 19, 2022–February 12, 2023

George Rowe

The Malvern Hills from the Summit of the Worcestershire Beacon

c. 1832-52, Color lithograph on wove paper. Acquired by the Clark, 1976. The Clark Art Institute, 1976.40.

This exhibition draws attention to the invisible element of atmosphere. Whereas earlier artists utilized landscape views to convey a socio-political sense of place and seascapes to signal global connections, On the Horizon examines another earthly domain—air—as a visual frontier during the nineteenth century. Building on then-recent scientific and technological advances, the objects presented in this exhibition explore how nineteenth-century artists and audiences in Europe and North America confronted the atmosphere as both a representational challenge and realm for visual expression and experience. On the Horizon features artworks by Joseph Mallord William Turner, John Constable, Honoré Daumier, Charles Meryon, James McNeill Whistler, and Auguste Louis Lepère, among others.
 
This exhibition is organized by the Clark Art Institute and curated by Rebecca Szantyr, former curatorial assistant for works on paper.