Lecture: ‘To Paint without Paint': Tonalism and Transcendence

2025 marks the double centenary of the birth of American artist George Inness (1825-1894), one of the premier landscape painters of the 19th century. Art historian Adrienne Bell, author of the 2015 George Inness and the Visionary Landscape, will discuss Inness’ relationship to the Tonalism movement on Tuesday, January 21 at 5 p.m. in the Diffley Board Room in Bellarmine Hall. A painting by Inness that has not been publicly exhibited in over 70 years, on loan from the Milton Klein Collection at the Bridgeport Public Library is one of the earliest works in the exhibition Dawn & Dusk: Tonalism in Connecticut, 

About the Exhibition: This exhibition explores Tonalism in the United States from the 1880s to the early 20th century, through artists from the Northeast such as George Inness, John Henry Twachtman, and John Francis Murphy. Tonalism is a transitional movement that grew out of and reacted to the Hudson River School of painting and laid the groundwork for modernism. Evocative landscapes, evoking a spiritual connection to the natural world, often painted from memory, are the primary genre of this movement. The more than fifty artworks in this exhibition are drawn from private and institutional collections.

The event will also be livestreamed on The Quick Live. Click here to register for a reminder. 

George Inness, Durham, Connecticut, 1879, oil on wood panel. Lent by The Milton Klein Collection, Bridgeport Public Library

Host or Publisher Fairfield University Art Museum