This Gallery Is a Poem: Unearthing Stories from the Collection
Just as a painting can tell a story, a poem may conjure a picture in the mind’s eye. This Gallery Is a Poem: Unearthing Stories from the Collection brings visual and literary forms into conversation, revealing how poetry and art enrich one another.
Alison Saar (American, b. 1956). Black Eyed Susan, 2024. Linoleum cut on vintage cotton seed sack (edition 12/15). Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Museum Purchase, 2024 (2024.15). Courtesy of Alison Saar and Tandem Press.
In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Hudson River Museum collaborated with Westchester Poet Laureate Phylisha Villanueva to “unearth” works from the collection that speak to themes of nature, gardening, and growth. She then invited fourteen poets from across Westchester County to respond to the selected works—including prints, photographs, paintings, and a quilt—with original poems, contributing one of her own as well.
The exhibition invites visitors to experience ekphrastic poetry—writing that draws inspiration from art, a practice that dates back to ancient Greece. Through poetic interpretation, the artworks take on new dimensions, engaging the senses and sparking fresh perspectives. Villanueva envisions the gallery itself as a poetic space in which images and words intertwine, where pairings transform imagery into verse and composition into cadence. In this spirit, visitors are encouraged to add their voices, contributing their own poetic and artistic reflections in response to the poetry and art on view.
This Gallery Is a Poem is curated by Phylisha Villanueva, Westchester Poet Laureate, and Laura Vookles, HRM’s Chair, Curatorial Department. Special thanks to Karintha Lowe, HRM’s former Mellon Public Humanities Fellow.
Exhibitions are made possible by assistance provided by the County of Westchester.
This exhibition is made possible by Sarah Lawrence College through a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Additional support is made possible in part by funding from The Rockefeller Brothers Fund and ArtsWestchester.
Featured Artists
Rudolf Eickemeyer Jr. • iliana emilia garcía • Seymour Joseph Guy • Lolla Hill • Frederic Waistell Jopling • Helen Levin • Janelle Lynch • Catherine McCarthy • Renata Rainer • Alison Saar • John E. Sheridan • George J. Stengel • Reuben Tam
Featured Poets
Rashaun J. Allen • E. J. Antonio • B.K. Fischer • Pamela Hart • Mellisa Joplin Higley • Harmony Hopwood • Marcus John • Kaitlyn Leslie-Smith • David Neilsen • Iain Haley Pollock • Tom Ray • Nina Belén Robins • Golda Solomon • Ann Van Buren • Phylisha Villanueva
Selected objects
Alison Saar (American, b. 1956). Black Eyed Susan, 2024. Linoleum cut on vintage cotton seed sack (edition 12/15) Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Museum Purchase, 2024 (2024.15).
Janelle Lynch (American, b. 1969). Fern Valley Ferns, 2021. Cyanotype on Revere Platinum Paper. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2022 (2022.4).
iliana emilia garcía (American, b. Dominican Republic, 1970). Unknown Distances/Undiscovered Islands #7, 2006. Archival digital print on canvas. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2024 (2024.4).
Photographer once known. Symra Brandon and Diane Pearson at the Nepperhan Community Center, ca. 1990s. Digital photograph. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Digital gift of Diane Pearson, 2019 (D2019.01.13).
Helen Levin (American, b.1940). Earth Celebration 1, 1983. Acrylic on canvas. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 2022 (2022.13).
Renata Rainer (American, b. 1928). Marble Well (Lyndhurst), 1981. Silver gelatin print. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist in memory of her mother, 2002 (2002.17.01).
Lolla Hill (American, 1912–2008). The River, 1960. Oil on canvas. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Museum Purchase, 1960 (60.8).
Reuben Tam (American, 1916–1991). Waves and Rock, 1959. Casein on paper. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Bequest of Carl E. Hiller, 1992 (1992-Hiller-24).
George J. Stengel (American, 1866–1937). New England Quarry, Ridgefield, Connecticut, ca. 1922. Oil on canvas. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of the artist, 1937 (37.311).
Rudolf Eickemeyer Jr. (American, 1862–1932). Irrigation Streams in Field, 1910. Sepia photograph. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of Mrs. Erik Kaeyer, 1975 (75.29.68).
Photographer once known. Glenview Front Porch with Woman, ca. 1895. Reproduction of vintage photograph. Collection of the Hudson River Museum (INV.9145).
Seymour Joseph Guy (American, b. England, 1824–1910). The Pick of the Orchard (Picking Apples), 1881. Oil on board. On extended loan from Shelley and Felice Bergman.
Catherine McCarthy. Pieced Flowers Quilt, ca. 1870–80. Cotton. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of Dorothy & Leo Rabkin, 1991 (91.16.9). Photo: Steven Paneccasio.
