Beyond the Landscape: Victoria Johnson on Glorious Country and the World of Frederic Church

In conjunction with Frederic Church in Jamaica, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Victoria Johnson shares the dramatic and consequential life of the artist Frederic Church, whose footsteps she followed around the globe for her new biography of Church, Glorious Country. Church’s curiosity, bravery, and passion for nature drove him to explore the world, but it was his astonishing talent that allowed him to bring the world to America at a time when landscape photography was in its infancy and most of his compatriots would never see a different country or continent. Exhibited to acclaim abroad, Church’s blockbuster paintings persuaded skeptical critics that the so-called “New World” could, in fact, give birth to towering artists and furnish the subject matter for great art. A master artist and citizen, Church brought the world to America, and America to the world.