As an Ambassador of New York State’s Hudson River Quadricentennial celebration in 2009, the Hebrew Home presents Joseph Squillante/Icons of the Hudson: Portrait of a River  Included in this exhibition are more than 20 photographs of iconic sites along the Hudson River from its source on Mount Marcy, the highest in the State, to a night view from atop the World Trade Center. Joseph Squillante explores the River’s majesty in photographs that reveal nature’s embodiment of Emerson’s Transcendentalist spirit and broadly reflect the aesthetic strategies of the 19^th-century Hudson River School painters. In his images, man and nature co-exist. While the River and its bounty provide opportunities for both work and leisure, Squillante’s project serves as a reminder that those who live and work along its shores today must take responsibility for its future.  

For more than thirty years, the Peekskill-based photographer has created images that educate the public about the River’s natural wonders and has brought attention to efforts to preserve it for future generations. Romantic and pastoral views include such iconic locations as Bannerman Castle, the haunting ruins of a Scottish mansion built in the early 20^th century, and Storm King Mountain, which sparked the modern day environmentalist movement in the Hudson Valley. His portraits of the people who ply their trade along the River and in the Hudson Valley, such as Claude Potts an apple farmer, Everett Nack a shad fisherman and famed folk singer Pete Seeger, reflect traditions carried on from generation to generation. Squillante’s photographs have been called icons, suggesting that they are lasting and enduring symbols that define the essential character of the river. These icons also indicate sacred sites with complex meanings whose stories the photographer conveys through his awe-inspiring black and white images. The nuanced contrasts and sharply defined details of his traditional gelatin silver prints and more contemporary digital Iris and pigment prints capture the beauty of his subjects and add to the impact they have on the viewer.