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II. The Tradition Maintained: From Professional to

Amateur Hamerton's book on Landscape was not, he claimed, intended to be a real "treatise" on either the technical or aesthetic matters of landscape; it is, despite erudite references to past philosophies and landscape histories, written with the average reader in mind. As such, the book serves as an example of the many links existing between the tradition of the landscape in the 19th century that were followed by professional painters and a newly enfranchised group of amateurs who took up landscape sketching, painting, and viewing with enthusiasm. These enthusiasts came from middle-class and upper-class circles, armed with good education, new means of travel, and new-found leisure time in which to accomplish a "serious" hobby. Professional landscape artists who accepted the role of teacher through their art also approached more literal roles as teachers quite earnestly; there is, in fact, an intriguing amount of evidence of a complex teacher-student relationship existing between many artists exhibited here. Hamerton was a lifelong admirer of Turner; he wrote one of the earliest biographies of the older artist, an homage to one of many who introduced him to the glories of nature.19 Appian (cat. 15) studied under Corot (cat. 17), while Carl Phillip Weber (cats. 7 and 8), Moran (cat. 5) and Lewis (cats. 9 and 16) were all students of Weber's uncle, Paul Weber. The interweaving of these mixed generations of artists thus ensured the continuation of techniques, compositions, and, above all, ideals throughout the century. But their educational goals were also more democratic: they sought to teach each other and also to teach the masses. The broader goal was accomplished through two major means, each exemplified in the current exhibition. One of these was the "how-to" book, instructing the amateur landscape sketcher with an interesting mix of idealist goals and practical advice. Hamerton's book on Landscape, noted above, was only one of over fifteen different publications by this artist, who also wrote autobiographical accounts of his own sketching trips, a biography of J.M.W. Turner, a study of The Graphic Arts, and a volume on Etching and Etchers.(20) Several books attempted fairly complete introductions to the actual practice of landscape, such as John Clark's A Series of Practical Instructions in Landscape Painting in Water Colours, published in 1827 (cat. 10). Specifically gearing his book to "the advancement of the amateur," Clark assumed that his reader/student was "the tourist [who wishes] to retain remembrances of the spots they have visited," but who is, unfortunately, "not qualified by some knowledge of art"; he assured the reader that this ability, with practice, is one that can be learned. Clark immediately followed this comforting practical advice, however, with a quote from Burke, offering a sure signal that subtext lessons on the sublime will also be included.(21) What follows is a carefully balanced blend of instructions: while referencing past masters such as Claude Lorrain, Nicholas Poussin, and Salvator Rosa--those very 17th-century models of landscape most commonly cited and studied by the professionals--Clark also addressed the delineation of simple picturesque details (the ubiquitous castle and cottage are assumed prerequisites for Clark) and even gave specific types of foliage to be copied into appropriate settings (see Fig. 4). Ultimately, as is clear in Clark's Friedrich/Allston-like illustration for `the castle scene' (Fig. 5), he intended to teach nothing less than the Sublime. Many of his "finished composition" illustrations--all hand-colored prints to be enjoyed and emulated by the reader--come

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remarkably close to a typical landscape by Cole or Lewis (compare Figs. 3 and 6; also cat. 9). With the assistance of books such as Clark's, the everyday lover of nature might be newly inspired, and newly trained, to join the grand tradition. In addition, there occurred in the 19th century a significant revival of the original print; these works, when devoted to landscape, offered yet another major means of disseminating the tradition to those who wanted to assume only a viewer's role. Increasingly towards the end of the century, folio-books were published that were essentially collections of prints. Two such publications, American Etchings (1886), and Half a Score of Etchings (1885) are included at the end of the current exhibition, following the catalogued works.(22) Although both offer a selection of original prints of various subjects, they feature landscapes. Notably these books include works by artists elsewhere included in the exhibition. For example, Otto Bacher's views (cat. 6) could have been seen not only in formal exhibitions, in this country as well as in Europe, but also in books such as American Etchings (Fig. 7). Appian's countryside river scenes (cat. 15) were matched in Half a Score of Etchings by a view of "Fishing Vessels" (Fig. 8). Treasured by their owners, such books would have served as the entertainment for an evening with friends. By lamplight, in the parlor, the folios would be opened and their contents examined. In these late 19th-century experiences, a simple and domesticated exercise, Burke's theory of the sublime would be brought down to (small) size, the final whisper of a century-long grand tradition.