Extraordinary Gifts: Selected Paintings from The Procter and Gamble Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum February 15, 2003 to September 12, 2004 Extraordinary Gifts: Selected Paintings from The Procter and Gamble Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum Cincinnati Art Museum logo
A Word from P&G - Overview of Extraordinary Gifts: Selected Paintings from The Procter and Gamble Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum Cincinnati Painters and the Big Picture - discusses how Cincinnati Artists fit into a larger art historical perspective The Works from The P&G Collection - themed galleries of the works in the show Index by Artist Name - a list of all the artists represented in the show and the works they completed Go back to the Cincinnati Art Museum Home page
Alexander Wyant (1836–1892)
In the Adirondacks, ca. 1880
oil on canvas
23 x 17 1/2 in.

   Landscape painter Alexander Wyant suffered from chronic ill health. Seeking a remedy, in 1873 he decided to join a geographical survey trip to the Western Territory. Unfortunately, he suffered a major stroke while on the trip and lost the use of his right arm. He began to teach himself to paint with his left hand and was forced to not only decrease the size of his canvases, but also to change his painting style.

Wyant abandoned the detailed scrutiny of nature that had previously marked his style, as seen in Cascades, and turned to a more fluid examination of nature with a looser use of paint and less attention to detail. Wyant was also influenced by the work of the French Barbizon painters, who were known for their atmospheric, meditative views of forest interiors. In the Adirondacks is an example of Wyant’s later work, painted with his left hand.