Every town in Connecticut needs someone like Nelson Augustus Moore.
Moore (1824-1902) called the Kensington section of Berlin his home, and spent his life painting it, idyllic scenes of natural beauty that serve as a reminder of the pristine past of a now-developed place.
Moore, who studied under Asher Brown Durand of the Hudson River School, is the focus of a new exhibit at New Britain Museum of American Art, which features 12 landscapes by Moore. It is the museum’s first exhibit of works by Moore in almost 20 years.
The works come from the collection of Todd and Marenda Stitzer of Kensington. Todd Stitzer is chairman of the museum executive committee and Marenda Stitzer is on the council of advisors.
Todd Stitzer said Moore, among the many other painters who have painted Connecticut in the past, appealed to him because of “the fine details, beautifully soft coloration and the fact that the views are literally those we see out our windows from Hillside Cottage.”
The exhibit also includes several photos taken by Moore, who was a professional daguerreotype photographer with offices in New Britain and Hartford. The photos were donated to the museum by Charles Rathbone, a descendant of Moore.
The paintings and Moore’s photographs sit side-by-side with photographs taken recently of the areas depicted in Moore’s paintings, and some of the wall text explains what became of the land in Moore’s pastoral visions.
“Summer Calm, Upper Pond” (1867) is a peaceful depiction of a little pond inhabited by only one shack. The pond as a whole was destroyed in a 1938 hurricane. What’s left of it is surrounded by housing developments.
Moore’s distant view of “The Hanging Hills of Meriden” (1866) makes one wonder where in that vista Route 71 is now. “Turkey Hill [Kensington]” shows a bucolic meadow with grazing cows and two chatting farmers in a spot now wooded and partially developed.
“A Country Romance” is charming, a scene of a farm featuring a man on bended knee in front of a woman, while another woman kneels in a garden nearby.
The glory of the exhibit is “The Path Home,” a majestic but tranquil scene of a narrow, wheel-tracked dirt road leading out of a shaded forest, over a little wooden bridge and into a sunny pasture. A few houses and a white steeple poke through the treeline and a single shaft of sunlight brightens the forest floor.
One painting by Moore of Lake George is included in the exhibit, as well as one work by Moore’s son, Edwin Augustus Moore, of a winter scene.
“NELSON AUGUSTUS MOORE: CONNECTICUT WATER, HILLS AND SKY” will be at New Britain Museum of American Art, 56 Lexington St. in New Britain, until Jan. 11. An opening reception on Sunday, Oct. 12, from 2 to 5 p.m. will include an address by Todd and Marenda Stitzer. Museum hours are weekdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays until 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. nbmaa.org.
