SAAM Makes an Impression on New Jersey

American Impressionism: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum opens today in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

This evocative seascape by Emil Carlsen is one of more than fifty Impressionist works from the Smithsonian American Art Museum on view at Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum through May 20, 2001.

Emil Carlsen came from a family of seascape painters, and he returned to the sea as a theme throughout his career. The South Strand reveals the artist's poetic approach to nature and his preference for images of serene moments over more dramatic scenes. The muted colors and delicate balance of the composition promote a sense of man in harmony with nature.

Source: Joann Moser. American Impressionism: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (exhibition text, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1999).

Pictured: Emil Carlsen, 1853 Denmark–1932 USA, The South Strand, about 1909, oil, 40 x 45 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans.