Summer on the Hudson 2014: Washington's Encampment & Stormking June 11, 2014

George Washington's encampment

Statue of George Washington

Tower of Victory

I never knew how much George Washington interacted in the Hudson Valley area until today. The proximity of the encampment to the Hudson River was crucial. The Hudson River was the most reliable highway you could have at that time. George Washington himself said, “Hudson’s River and the passes in the highlands, I always considered, as objects of great importance, and accordingly, have provided for their Security in the best manner.” The rebels needed to maintain control of the Hudson River or else they would lose the Revolutionary War. As I was reading this I could only think of the ranger at the Saratoga Monument that said the Hudson River Valley was the birth place of America, because it essentially was. In the battle headquarters we visited today, Washington wrote the 17 page essay that would eventually become the basis for writing the constitution. Every site we visit tends to always lead back to the restoration center at Peebles Island. The portrait at Washington’s headquarters had been restored at Peebles Island and it looked great. As with the iconography we learned about at the Oakwood cemetery, portraits also had symbolic meanings. The pen and paper symbolized literacy and knowledge, the tassels for the amount of terms served, the nice clothing as a symbol of wealth, and the books at the bottom for the many things George Washington achieved. I was upset we were not able to take photos because I wish I had a photo of the portrait to go into further detail of the symbolic images. I think by now we’ve all learned proper house museum etiquette. For instance, sneaking pictures when the tour guide says pictures are not allowed and wiping our feet on the carpet as we walked into the house. We were told that the flooring is the original flooring of the house, so we were basically walking on the footsteps of history. But I don’t think we’ve just walked on the footsteps of history today, I think we’ve been doing that every single day of this program. We don’t necessarily walk on original flooring in the houses we tour, but we experience the history it holds and how it shaped the Hudson River Valley. Since the Hudson River Valley is the birthplace of America, I would say we’ve walked quite a distance on history.

Sculptures at Stormking art center

I really enjoyed viewing the sculptures at Stormking because we were able to explore the grounds by ourselves. At first I thought it would be extremely hard trying to relate the art center with the Hudson River School, but as I was exploring I thought long and hard about the different artists. The Hudson River Valley is obviously a beautiful place. The landscape at Stormking includes natural woodlands, native grasses, and farmed fields. The paintings from the Hudson River School would recreate the Hudson River Valley and surrounding areas. But the way each artist used the landscape is very different. Like I said before, the Hudson River School artists would paint Hudson River Valley landscapes and recreate the beautiful setting. They would take the land they are looking at and create a peaceful, detailed piece. The artists featured at the art center add to the landscape. They make their piece surrounding the area to create a cohesive environment. But all of these artists had one thing in common, they each saw the beauty of the land and used it in their favor. Some of my favorite pieces from the art center are shown below. The hands from the gallery remind me of the painters at the Hudson River School and how they would hold their paintbrush while painting. The bridge that was built did not bother the environment it was set in, but was built around the trees which made it all the more beautiful. The different types of marble set on the floor reminds me of all of the different architectural buildings we have been observing on our way to historical sites. And my absolute favorite, the symmetrical poles. It was so peaceful watching the poles spin and I knew I could stand there for hours watching it. I noticed that the art center had a huge feature on the three legged Buddha created by Zhang Huan. I asked one of the employees why they had this sculpture everywhere, and she told me that this was their largest scale sculpture in the whole art center. It is probably also the most interesting one to put on a shirt. I would like to visit the art center again when it is a little warmer because the cold weather forced me to quickly look at the piece and move on to the next one. I also wish they would have a piece you could climb on because I was so tempted to climb on one of the sculptures we weren’t supposed to touch. If they had at least one sculpture we could climb on, I think people would be less tempted to climb on others. Even though I wasn’t able to climb on anything but the stairs, I enjoyed this trip.