ROSLYN HARBOR, NY.- On the anniversary of the 400th year since Henry Hudson’s exploration of what came to be called the Hudson River, Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA) presents Poetic Journey: Hudson River School Paintings from the Grey Collection, an exhibition based the extraordinary holdings of Long Island art collectors David and Laura Grey. Included in this exhibition are works by masters of the genre such as Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, George Inness and John Frederick Kensett, among others. Poetic Journey is on view from January 18, 2009 through March 15, 2009. The exhibition is organized by Constance Schwartz and Franklin Hill Perrell.

These Hudson River School paintings present a deeply moving and historic theme, one that has been relatively untouched in recent exhibitions at this museum. The artists of period, ca. 1840-1880, evolved through the Romantic spirit inspired by the majesty of the nation’s vast and powerful landscape and came to comprise the first authentic American art movement, one which defined itself in predominantly American terms with regard to both subject and style. In depicting the awe-inspiring landscapes of America, they were inspired by the ideas of the writers Thoreau and Emerson. Their work reflected a widespread belief that scenes of untouched America had a purity lacking in historic European landscapes. This fascination with pristine American scenes combined with the evolving political concept of manifest destiny to sweep the visual arts of the mid- and late-19th century.

Also drawn from important Long Island collections are the works of the main exhibition, Long Island Collects, and a companion exhibition, Andy Warhol Silkscreens.