May 3-August 24, 2025

During the mid-1800s, the invention of the paint tube and small portable easels allowed artists to work outdoors with greater ease. This enabled them to carry their studio art supplies to various locations and finish small paintings in a single sitting, a practice that became known as plein air. The term plein air comes from the French phrase en plein air, meaning “in the open air.”

These paintings are usually gestural and expressive because they are painted quickly. They often produce fresh, direct, and intuitive responses to nature and the changing light. Despite rapidly changing styles and trends, the popularity of plein air painting continues to be practiced by artists today.

This exhibition is a collection of thirty-eight small paintings from the Flatwater Folk Art Museum in Brownville, Nebraska. With works dating between 1905 and 2021, this collection demonstrates how American painters have engaged with this tradition from the West Coast, Southwest, Midwest, and Northeast. Nebraska artists include Meyers “Bud” Cather (1917-2013), Beth Cole (b. 1958), Steven Dinsmore (b. 1952), Robert F. Gilder (1856-1940), Richard Hayek (b. 1940), Keith Jacobshagen (b. 1942), Tim Klunder (b. 1965), and Tom Palmerton (1932-2015).

 

Photograph © Nic Lehoux