This book accompanies a major new exhibition opening at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, October 2012 - January 2013, which includes major loans from National Gallery, Oslo and the Lunde collection in the US
In Front of Nature considers Fearnley's relationships with his fellow artists and his place in the wider context of early 19th-century romantic landscape painting and feature works by leading contemporary artists
The book provides a vital understanding of how Fearnley used his en plein air sketches to work up his final studio paintings
In Front of Nature is the first monograph to feature the work of Thomas Fearnley (1802-1842), a major artist in the tradition of the great romantics like Caspar David Friedrich, J.C. Dahl and J.M.W.Turner. This volume reveals the full range of Fearnley's landscape paintings, from large oils to spontaneous sketches, which he produced en plein air during his summer travels.
Fearnley's entire career is considered: Frode Ernst Haverkamp studies his Norwegian upbringing and influence, David Jackson looks at his extensive travels to artistic centers in Italy and Germany, including Dresden where he studied under J. C. Dahl, and his return to Norway via the Swiss Alps and Britain. Ann Sumner studies the artist's little-known British paintings, including his tour of the Lake District and involvement with the Etching Society. Greg Smith focuses on how Fearnley appears in his own landscape studies and in a new type of contemporary painting: gatherings of artists in social settings.
Contents:
Painting from Nature - Introduction by Ann Sumner; Chronology; Thomas Fearnley: A Norwegian Background by Frode Ernst Haverkamp; Thomas Fearnley: A European Artist by David Jackson; Thomas Fearnley and Britain by Ann Sumner; Thomas Fearnley: A Landscape Artist in the Frame by Greg Smith; 'Fearnley's Ramsau and the Oil Sketch' Technical Note; Bibliography; List of Exhibits; Lenders to the Exhibition and Photographic Acknowledgements; Contributors; Index
