Robert Seyffert – Water Works: Paintings of the Hudson River and Other Views
June 11–October 11, 2009

Robert Seyffert, Philips Manor Beach, the Hudson, 2009. Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in. Courtesy the artist.

As an Ambassador of New York State’s Hudson River Quadricentennial celebration in 2009, The Hebrew Home at Riverdale presented Water Works: Paintings of the Hudson River and Other Views featuring the work of Bronx artist Robert Seyffert. The paintings on view reflect Seyffert’s ongoing interest in the shorelines and rivers of New York, Maine, Nova Scotia and California and the fragile ecosystems they contain.

 

Seyffert, whose studio is located in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx, is a painter of multiple subjects. He finds in the objects that inspire him “equal statements of how light brings forth an emotional sensation,” he has stated. The paintings are intended to represent a period of time. In addition to the wondrous play of light and color, the works refer to the water as a place of rest and solace. Seyffert has described them as “travel paintings.” Taken all together, they form a varied body of work inspired by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the many watercourses in between, such as the vast and majestic Hudson.

Robert Seyffert was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania to a family of prominent artists. He earned his B.F.A. from the Maryland Institute and an M.F.A. from Parsons School of Design. He has taught drawing and painting at the Art Students League in New York as well as in other institutions along the East Coast such as the Washington Studio School, Baltimore School for the Arts and Johns Hopkins University. His work has been exhibited nationally in both solo and group shows. Seyffert is known for both his landscapes and cityscapes. In a profile in American Artist magazine, he explained the appeal of both natural and urban scenes. “Whether it’s a big tree or a 1965 Pontiac,” Seyffert said, “there’s something about the light hitting the subject that excites me, and that’s what I paint. . . . I’m trying to get the sensation created by the thing I’m looking at, and not just copying it.”

Download Press Release

 

The Riverdale Press | July 9, 2009
“Ongoing programs: Water works”

 

The Riverdale Press | July 16, 2009
“Hebrew Home Celebrates the Hudson”

 

Riverdale Review | August 5, 2009
“Paintings of Robert Seyffert displayed at Hebrew Home”

 

The Riverdale Press | September 3, 2009
“Stepping out: River paintings”

 

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