Noah Webster Jr. was born in this very house on South Main Street in West Hartford during October of 1758. In 1806, at age 48, he would go on to create America’s first dictionary and then dedicate the next two decades to crafting his master work: the 70,000-word “An American Dictionary of the English Language”. It sold poorly and production drove him into debt. Only after he died in the 1840s, with the rights to the work purchased by the Merriam brothers, did the famous Merriam-Webster Dictionary take shape, posthumously securing Webster’s rightful place in American history.
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“Christmas Lights at West Hartford, 2017” Christmas Tree at West Hartford Town Hall, West Hartford, Connecticut
A little bit of Christmas spirit seems in order this weekend and the fine tree out front of West Hartford’s Town Hall certainly does the trick. Though this particular piece prompts me to draw attention to an element of some landscapes that perhaps the casual observer rarely notices.
Power lines tend to be strung up without any regard to how they impact aesthetics. I get it; it’s about practicality and we all need electricity and cable. But sometimes you get a scene like this where visual appeal isn’t marred by a thousand draped wires and it offers insight into why it might be useful to put a bit of extra thought into exactly where we hang lines. I’ve tussled with a number of different landscapes across Connecticut that are negatively impacted by the presence of a poorly-positioned power line. Oftentimes the aesthetics could’ve been preserved if the line had simply been run on the other side of the road, for example.
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Writing in the 1890s for his book Poems of New England, J. H. Earle kicked off “A Summer Hour” with a few soothing lines:
Great the joy there is in silence
When the mind is free,
For then we here with nature talk,
And all seems in glee.
Especially when summer breezes
Waft the teeming earth,
And all landscapes seem to flourish
In nature’s glad birth.
Earle probably didn’t spend much time with early cameras, but I’m fairly certain that modern landscape photography taps in to the very same vein of inspiration from which he crafted his poetry.
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My Waterfalls of Connecticut collection is on display during the entire month of July at the Noah Webster Library Gallery in West Hartford, Connecticut.
My Waterfalls of Connecticut collection is on display during the entire month of July at the Noah Webster Library Gallery in West Hartford, Connecticut.
During the month of July, a selection of my prints will be on display at the Noah Webster Library Gallery in West Hartford, Connecticut. The exhibition theme is “Waterfalls of Connecticut” and you’ll enjoy 15 pieces that portray a range of waterfalls from diverse areas of the state. If you haven’t had an opportunity yet to see one of my finished pieces -a framed and matted print- then this your chance to see a wide range of them all in one place in a relaxed and especially quiet venue.
Although waterfalls represent only a portion of my subject matter, there’s little doubt that I have a special affinity for them. Over the course of more than four years, I’ve dedicated considerable time and creative energy to producing photographs that capture the unique sense of place that these waterscapes offer. Earlier this year I released a collection of images, also titled “Waterfalls of Connecticut“, which portrays thirty waterfalls from around the state and celebrates my aesthetic fascination with cascading water.
My Waterfalls of Connecticut exhibition at the West Hartford Library is based upon my earlier collection and incorporates some of the pieces that you may be familiar with already. However, I’ve also included in this showing a number of pieces that were produced in just the past 6 months. For that matter, some of the pieces on display feature waterfalls that weren’t included in the original Waterfalls of Connecticut collection.
So whether or not you’re familiar with my original Waterfalls of Connecticut collection, there’s still plenty to see at this exhibition. In addition, I’ve also hung all three of the pieces from my newest collection, Old Timbered Crossings, which features the last three historic covered bridges left in Connecticut.
Consider yourself invited to visit the Noah Webster Library at any time during the month of July to see my work!
When and Where
Location:
Noah Webster Library
20 South Main Street
West Hartford, CT 06107
Duration:
June 30 – July 31, 2014
Other Info:
The gallery area is located on the main floor. Don’t hesitate to ask the library staff at the front desk.
As part of J. G. Coleman’s Decor Series prints, all of the works seen at the exhibition are available at Fine Art America. You are encouraged to visit J. G. Coleman’s Fine Art America eStore, or see all of Fine Art America’s waterfall art.
