Read Baldwin has been teaching drawing and printmaking at Kenyon College since 1995. He exhibits his landscape paintings primarily in New York and New Hampshire. More work can be seen on his website at readbaldwin.com.
Tree Line
The two larger landscapes here depict areas on the Presidential Range in New Hampshire (Great Gulf, 2014 and Boott Spur, 2014). I have made paintings in the White Mountains for many years, but these are the first above the tree line. There are several wonderful Homer paintings of day-trippers on the mountain, working with easels erect and palettes in hand. Outings of that kind are possible on the best days of summer, but when fall arrives the Presidentials transform into a treacherous place. It is a place characterized by extremes. The second-highest wind speed on earth was recorded on top of Mt Washington in 1934. And the mountain remains in temperatures well below zero through most of the winter. Its geology is essentially a great pile of broken granite. But despite its inhospitality, it is an environment rich in lichens and rugged plant life. And there is actually a species of butterfly unique to Mt Washington: Oenneis melissa semidea.
I believe in some ways my engagement with this place parallels scientific activity conducted in extreme environments, including superfund wastelands. There is in both the potential for secrets and knowledge to be revealed. These paintings represent an aesthetic and spiritual exploration of a world that for all its barrenness has a uniquely powerful and mysterious emotional gravity.
By contrast, Palms in the Jungle is a painting made on-site in the lush forests along the Pacific Coast of Mexico. There is a cacophonous array of flora in this distinctly different bio-diverse region.
Read Baldwin
Associate Professor of Art, Kenyon College
January 2014
I’m very curious about this and other Gund Gallery shows and pieces mentioned, but I find it frustrating to find any connected content on this site.
![[+]](https://www.thegundgallery.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IMG_6432.jpg){kind=link}
Hi Nat,
Thanks for your comment! It is very disappointing when you can’t find the information you want. After taking a peek, it seems some of the image content on this image had become corrupted over the years. I have been able to re-link it and now you should be able to find all the information you need. I hope this helps!
Best,
Caroline