The Heckscher Museum of Art’s collection spans 500 years with particular emphasis on art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. American landscape painting and work by Long Island artists, past and present, are particular strengths, as is American and European modernism.
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Holbrook, Mass.
Straying from the prominent Abstract Expressionist style of his peers in the 1950s, George Nick stated: “I found the real world far more interesting than much of the art I saw.” Like the Cubist artist Fernand Léger, Nick focuses primarily on man-made structures, including buildings and architectural interiors. However, his goal in rendering quotidian subjects is more akin to Post-Impressionist Paul Cézanne’s quest—the investigation of form and an understanding of the geometric structure of the visible world.
In Holbrook, Mass., the architecture is viewed from street level, creating an almost distorted perspective. Nick explained his approach by stating: “When you look up at a building, you’re not really seeing it straight anymore.” Nick’s image is scientifically precise. By using a viewfinder and painting from his “mobile studio” on the street, the artist pinpoints and measures the exact proportions of his scenes.