A Faithful Student of Nature: The Life and Art of Samuel L. Gerry

SKU: NHHS-GERRY

This major publication of the New Hampshire Historical Society offers an unprecedented look at the life and art of Samuel L. Gerry, one of the most prolific White Mountain artists. Gerry created more than 140 paintings depicting majestic views of New Hampshire. His work was realistic, yet it also idealized the natural world, emphasizing its grandeur and its vastness.  

From the mid-1830s until 1890, Gerry traveled nearly every summer from his Boston home to the White Mountains or the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Here, he explored, sketched, and painted the natural world around him, one that had been only lightly touched by man. His depictions of New Hampshire’s natural beauty, including such iconic sights as the Old Man of the Mountain, Mount Washington, and the Flume, helped shape the way Americans viewed the state.

A friend and colleague of noted painters like Benjamin Champney and Albert Bierstadt, Gerry was part of a new order of artists who were intent on establishing America’s cultural reputation—that the nation’s artists and its scenery rivaled anything to be found in Europe. Together they redefined American art in the 19th century. 

This 128-page book features 52 full-color plates of Gerry’s paintings, dozens of other illustrations, and articles by Gerry scholar Charles Vogel and art historian Melissa Geisler Trafton.

Authors: Articles by Charles Vogel and Melissa Geisler Trafton; foreword by William H. Dunlap; introduction by Mike Pride
Editorial Staff: Elizabeth Dubrulle, Editor; Donna-Belle Garvin, Guest Editor; Joan E. Desmarais, Illustrations Editor; Wesley G. Balla, Director of Collections & Exhibitions
(Softcover)