GLENS FALLS, NY.- On Sunday, November 16, 2008, The Hyde Collection opens its newest exhibition: California Impressionism: Paintings from The Irvine Museum. The exhibition, which runs through January 18, 2009, includes sixty paintings by forty artists of California Impressionist art from the collection of The Irvine Museum in California.

According to David F. Setford, The Hyde’s executive director, Impressionism found fertile ground in California between 1900 and 1930. Known as the “The Land of Sunshine” with its temperate climate and remarkable landscape, California was a popular locale for painters who worked en plein air, or out of doors, seeking to infuse their work with intense light and color.

Works by such artists as Maurice Braun, Alson Clark, Armin Hansen, Edgar Payne, Hanson Puthuff, Guy Rose, Elmer Wachtel, Marion Kavanagh Wachtel, William Wendt, and many other noted painters of this period will be on view in the Charles R. Wood Gallery.

“Rarely are paintings of early twentieth-century California scenery exhibited at museums in the Northeast. This exhibition is an unparalleled opportunity for our region to view a selection of the finest examples of California Impressionist art from the largest collection of these works in the world,” said Erin B. Coe, chief curator at The Hyde.

California Impressionism: Paintings from The Irvine Museum is accompanied by a 200-page catalogue with essays by the leading authorities in the field of American Impressionism including William H. Gerdts, Harvey L. Jones, David Dearinger, and Jean Stern.

The exhibition is organized by The Irvine Museum, Irvine, California and guest curated by William H. Gerdts.