Utica, N.Y. — Coming soon, Munson Museum of Art will host the first exhibition to uncover the enduring legacy of “The Voyage of Life,” Munson’s beloved quartet of paintings by Thomas Cole. Organized by Museum Director Emeritus Paul Schweizer, “Canvas to Culture: Thomas Cole’s Voyage of Life Lives On” will be on view Feb. 28 through May 25 at the Munson Museum of Art in Downtown Utica. Admission is free for Munson Members and $5 for the general public.
“Canvas to Culture” features more than 50 works from Munson and other prominent collections inspired by Thomas Cole’s epic series, “The Voyage of Life” (1839–40). Cole’s series illustrates four stages of human life from birth to death as represented by an epic river journey. The artist sets the progress of life against changing landscapes, using seasons and times of day to symbolize the passage of time and the stages of life.
After Cole’s death in 1848, “The Voyage of Life” inspired many other artists to make prints, paint copies, create mechanical reproductions, and produce imagery for commercial books and other media. Some stayed true to Cole’s vision, while others changed or even rejected its themes to reflect their own experiences, culture, and religious values.
These reinterpretations transformed “The Voyage of Life” from a series of pictures originally destined for a private gallery into a staple of American popular culture. Collectively, the works in “Canvas to Culture” reveal the deep connections between fine art, religion, everyday life, social class, and technology in the United States during the 1800s and early 1900s. From the first printed and painted reproductions to popular imagery, the journey culminates in the appearance of Cole’s painted vision of “Youth” on the silver screen in the first full-length “talkie” film, “The Jazz Singer” (1927).
“‘Canvas to Culture’ is a fascinating blend of imagery that delights the eye and challenges the mind,” says Museum Director and Chief Curator Stephen Harrison. “It is a rare opportunity to see the ‘Voyage of Life’ in a new light.”
For more information, visit munson.art/canvas-to-culture.
This exhibition is generously sponsored by Mary Ann Gadziala; Christian and Cheryl Heilmann; Elizabeth R. Lemieux, Ph.D.; the Family of F. X. Matt II; Hon. Beverly Tobin (ret), in memory of Edwin J. Tobin; and Linda and Alan Vincent.
