Staten Island SEEN

Exhibit Opening: Late Fall 2014

Artists have come to Staten Island to paint the landscape for centuries. Staten Island SEEN will present works of art - primarily painted views of Staten Island from the 17th century through today. The exhibition will stimulate a discovery of the art works, the artists, their aesthetic styles and schools of art, and the Island they depict. Visitors will be able to consider the role of landscape artists through the centuries, and visually absorb the overlooked story of Staten Island: its small colonial villages, bucolic farmland, dramatic maritime ports, lush panoramas, street scenes, 20th century industrial decline, ecological battles, and hurricane ravaged neighborhoods. 

The breadth and richness of the exhibit may surprise the people who connect Staten Island with the notorious Fresh Kills landfill, 1970's big hair styles, and Jersey Shore television characters. They will come away with new perspectives of the borough as a place of unexpected beauty, drama, controversial change, and a much debated future. 

Artist: Jasper Cropsey (1823 - 1900)

Title: Looking Oceanward from Todt Hill

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dates: 1895

Dimensions: 48 in. x 78 in.

Signature/Inscription: J.F. Cropsey; Front - Lower center

Culture: American

Accession Number: A1946.3595

Credit: Gift of Committee Donors