Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Landscapes: Real and Imagined

May 24, 2008—October 5, 2008

Lyonel Feininger, American, 1871-1956.
Vollersroda III, 1914. Charcoal and ink on paper.

As human beings, we are part of nature and creators of the culture that surrounds us. We are constantly observing, evaluating and responding to that world. Artists, who are highly perceptive visual thinkers, are keenly aware of the points at which inner voice meets external world. The prints and drawings in this exhibition document some of the real and imagined places they have visited. They ask us to travel with them to places near and far.

In the 19th century, landscape painters took advantage of developments in travel, including the railroad, and explored varied and distant lands. At the same time, the French Impressionists aimed to capture landscape in a new manner, dealing with transient light and weather effects.

Twentieth-century European artists turned their eyes upon the ordinary world around them, conveying a life of simple moments through glimpses of city streets, lakes and harbors, and the surrounding countryside. The sketchy, unfinished look of many of these works is intentional. In this way, the artist invites the viewer to complete the vision.

Free admission, no exhibition tickets required.