Seeing the Landscape in Landscape Art

A new paper by ecologist and Harvard Forest collaborator Ed Faison (of Highstead) explores how the ecology and land-use changes of the 19th-century American landscape are revealed in paintings from that period.

Using examples from Hudson River School artists, Faison discusses subtle evidence of forest clearing and composition, shifts in wildlife populations, and the remanants of old growth forest.

• Read the full article in Arnoldia: Seeing the Landscape in Landscape Art
• Browse the renowned landscape dioramas of the Harvard Forest Fisher Museum

(Painting by George Inness, "The Lackawanna Valley," from the National Gallery of Art)