Joseph Tubby Retrospective Opens in FHK Gallery

KINGSTON - A retrospective of Joseph Tubby (1821-1896), a nineteenth century Kingston artist noted for his paintings of local landscapes, will open at the Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery on Saturday, May 3. Tubby was a disciple of the Hudson River School and painted in that style throughout his career.

Born in England, Tubby moved to Rondout as an adolescent when the new village was fast emerging alongside the Delaware and Hudson Canal, completed in 1828. In addition to his pastoral landscapes, Tubby chronicled the bustling shipyards and commercial activity generated by the canal. Some of Tubby's finest landscapes, executed later in the 1870s and 1880s, feature scenes of Kingston, Esopus and the Rondout Creek, and depict churches, buildings and streets still standing today.

Tubby was a close friend of the noted Hudson River School artist Jervis McEntee, a Rondout resident also. They shared a studio in New York City and traveled on sketching trips together throughout the Adirondack and Catskill mountains. A self-taught landscape painter, Tubby was influenced by McEntee, as well as by Frederic Church and Kingston artist John Vanderlyn.

To support his avocation as an artist and as the father of a large family, Tubby did sign painting, wallpapering and house painting. He also worked with his father in the construction business. Their most notable building, a row of attached brick town houses known as "Tubby Row" and built in 1870, still stands on Spring Street in Rondout.

Tubby's paintings were exhibited at the National Academy of Design from 1850-1860, and later at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Today his work is found in the New-York Historical Society, Smith College Museum of Art, Senate House State Historic Site and in private collections. The upcoming exhibit will feature works from both public institutions and private collections. Sanford Levy of Jenkinstown Antiques in New Paltz is the show curator and author of the accompanying catalogue.

The exhibit may be viewed thru October 26, Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. or by appointment.. There is no admission fee. Exhibits at the Friends of Historic Kingston Museum highlight local history, culture and art, and are free and open to the public. The museum is located on the corner of Wall-Main Streets opposite the Old Dutch Church. For more information, call (845) 339-0720, or visit www.fohk.org