Eanger Irving Couse

EANGER IRVING COUSE: A Place in the Sun

August 15, 2008

CORNING, NY - Born in Saginaw, Michigan but trained in New York and Paris, Eanger Irving Couse became a seminal figure in the landscape of American art. By uniting his academic training with exotic images of the Taos Indians and their pueblo, Couse helped found the Taos Society of Artists in New Mexico and inspire a new spirit in American art.

Drawing primarily from the collections of the Saginaw Art Museum and the Rockwell Museum of Western Art, this exhibition illuminates the career of this painter, who continues to impact other artists. Works include a private sketchbook and figure drawings that reveal his skill as a draftsman. Bucolic French scenes and other early paintings illustrate the influence of Couse's famed teacher, William Adolph Bouguereau. Later paintings demonstrate the evolution from the pastel pastoral of his European training to the vibrant palette and striking figures of the Southwestern landscape for which he is best remembered. His philosophy and later style reflect his effort "to remove the misconception and contempt in which the Indian has been held, and to show that they are human beings worthy of... a place in the sun."

Exhibition Related Programming

The exhibition will open with a reception at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 17, 2007 at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. Museum members are invited FREE of charge. The public is encouraged to attend; admission to the event for not-yet-members is $6.50. Reservations can be made by calling 607.974.2333 or by email at manwaringb@rockwellmuseum.org.

About the Rockwell Museum of Western Art

Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Rockwell Museum of Western Art is located in the center of the Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York Sate and in the heart of Corning's Gaffer District. The Museum is open to the public seven days a week; hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Membership to the Museum includes yearlong free admission