From Amagansett to East Hampton

George Bogert created several views of Amagansett, Long Island, which was a popular subject for nineteenth-century landscape painters. In this image the view sweeps westward along Amagansett beach to the distant village of East Hampton, where a church spire reaches up above the horizon. The sky fills almost two thirds of the canvas, and our eyes are drawn first to the large clouds that stand out against the bright blue sky. The figures walking along the grass appear tiny under this dramatic sky, which evokes the power of nature even on a calm day.