James McDougal Hart

Biography and A VIEW ON LOON LAKE

by Kyle Ganong

James McDougal Hart was born in 1828 in Kilmarnock, Scotland. His

family immigrated to Albany, New York when he was two years old. He spent
his youth in upstate New York. As he grew older, he loved the way things
looked outside and decided to take up art. At the age of 15, he started his
journey by becoming an apprentice to a sign, carriage and banner maker for
about 5 years.
At the age of 22, he moved back to Europe and enrolled in the
Dusseldorf Art Academy in Germany. There, he learned from the great
landscape painter Johann Wilhelm Schirmer. He stayed at the school for a
few years, and then decided to move back to the United States. He returned
to Albany to teach art.
Hart spent most of his adult life in New York surrounded by his
extended family. His older brother, William Hart, likewise a famous artist,
was also influential in his early years. James Hart enjoyed the outdoors and
appreciated the beauty of his natural surroundings. Drawing on the scenic
splendor of his environment, Hart became a leading landscape artist. His
work became part of the famous Hudson River School of artists.

Although James McDougal Hart would occasionally do portraits, he

focused on what he called the Poetry of Nature. His main style was
landscape paintings incorporating deer and cows. He used gently colored
compositions and emphasized nature. He was quoted as saying, I strive to
reproduce the feeling produced by the original scenes themselves. James
McDougal Hart died in Brooklyn, New York in 1901.

Critique A View on Loon Lake

I reviewed James McDougal Harts painting called A View on Loon Lake.
I felt that this artwork was typical of the Hudson River School and created a
sense of calm. It portrays an area of rural America where someone could get
away and reflect. It depicts a lazy, summer day in which a small, gentle
storm may be approaching. It does not appear to be a torrential downpour
with thunder and lightning, but a storm with light rain and gentle breezes.
You get the feeling that it is a quiet, peaceful place where the weather is

actually cleaning the environment rather than causing a mess.

Summarizing, the initial response is a sense of happiness, a feeling of
tranquility, and forgetting any worries that someone may have at the time.
In describing the painting, it is a nice, panoramic landscape with good
summer colors near a lake in the northern United States. The artwork is
balanced with trees, rocks and deer on a hill near the edge of the lake on the
right, while the actual lake is on the left. In the top right corner, storm clouds
are moving into the picture. The clouds give the impression that Hart
purposely put the clouds in to show that the storm was moving closer to the
observer. In the background, there is a large mountain, while in the distance,
there are some white, puffy clouds that bring calmness to the painting. The
painting is a great example of his work and is representative of the majority
of his art. I believe it is one of his better pieces.
In this artwork, Hart used a few different elements and principals. For
example, he used color to make the clouds seem threatening on the right
side of the painting, but then changed the color of the clouds on the left to
create a gentler sky. In his landscapes, the colors are never overwhelming or
brilliant, but they are somewhat muted giving a harmonious feeling and
creating a serene environment.
James McDougal Hart also used texture very well in this painting. With
the realistic detail, it gives you the feeling that you are there in the picture.
The way Hart positions the deer in the painting shows they are on edge,

ready to run at a moments notice. Further, he uses the detail of some dead
branches near the trees to allude to the passage of time. Finally, he uses
texture to show the waves crashing off the rocks. It gives the art a realistic
image. He also uses texture to make the painting feel alive. He makes the
trees look like they are blowing in the wind, the clouds are moving across the
sky, and the deer are grazing near the lake.
Hart used space by putting the trees in the foreground and the
mountains in the background. This gives the painting some dimension and
adds depth while trying to capture the vastness of the outdoors. Further, he
gives the water the right amount of space between each wave. It looks like
the wind is making each wave move in a different direction than the others.
The principles that James McDougal Hart used include emphasis,
balance, movement and harmony. The emphasis of the painting is in the
clouds. He uses the dark color of the clouds to show that a storm is
approaching yet contrasts that with white clouds in the distance. Also, he
uses a lot of good balance in A View on Loon Lake. In addition to the dark
and light clouds, Hart balances the trees on the right with the lake on the
left. With the mountains in the background, Hart gives a sense of balance
utilizing an odd number of hills. The odd number creates a sense of balance.
The balance is so good, that any part of the artwork could be a painting by
itself.
Hart incorporates movement in the painting by portraying the trees
swaying to one side, or depicting the waves crashing against the rocks. His
artistic touch gives you a sense that the clouds are moving as well,

especially the storm clouds which give a touch of dark perspective in the
painting. At the same time, he uses harmony in his work. The artwork gives
the sense that this is an actual place in nature. As an observer, you can
imagine yourself there. Each section of the painting has a purpose, and it
does not appear as though he pieced together different scenes.
I would interpret A View on Loon Lake as a painting that shows the
isolation of the outdoors. I believe this is meant to be a simple piece to be
enjoyed by everyone. This artwork may also make a statement at an
important time in our history. After the Civil War, this artwork and other
Hudson River School paintings were meant to show the American
countryside as an idyllic place; a place at peace, not a place trying to create
any type of violence towards anyone or anything.
I believe that this artwork is a success, and it achieved its goal as a
simple, landscape painting. Its purpose was to give the viewer an escape and
a place where they could reflect and imagine a sense of calmness. I believe
that Hart created this art work for Hedonistic reasons. It was created to give
joy to many people, bring a piece of the Hudson River area to those that
wanted it, and let them admire the detail of a place they may never get to
visit.

Work Cited

http://www.mutualart.com/Artist/James-McDougalHart/9BAFF74EED90B1B7/Artworks
http://www.antiquesandfineart.com/artists/bio.cfm?id=146696
http://www.askart.com/artist_bio/James_McDougal_Hart/21420/James_McDou
gal_Hart.aspx
http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/list.php?m=a&s=du&aid=640
http://hrs-art.com/hudson-river-school-artists/james-mcdougal-hart/
http://www.avictorian.com/Hart_James_McDougal.html