New Haven's Sentinels: The Art and Science of East Rock and West Rock (The Driftless Connecticut Series & Garnet Books) - Hardcover

Zeilinga De Boer, Jelle

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0819573744 ISBN 13: 9780819573742

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press, 2013

Synopsis

West Rock and East Rock are bold and beautiful features around New Haven, Connecticut. They resemble monumental gateways (or time-tried sentinels) and represent a moment in geologic time when the North American and African continents began to separate and volcanism affected much of Connecticut. The rocks attracted the attention of poets, painters, and naturalists when beliefs rose about the spiritual dimensions of nature in the early 19th century. More than two dozen artists, including Frederick Church, George Durrie, and John Weir, captured their magic and produced an assortment of classic American landscapes. In the same period, the science of geology evolved rapidly, triggered by the controversy between proponents and opponents of biblical explanations for the origin of rocks. Lavishly illustrated, featuring over sixty paintings and prints, this book is a perfect introduction to understanding the relationship of geology and art. It will delight those who appreciate landscape painting, and anyone who has seen the grandeur of East and West Rock.

About this title

About the Author:

JELLE ZEILINGA DE BOER is Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, Emeritus at Wesleyan University and the author of Stories in Stone: How Geology Influenced Connecticut History and Culture. JOHN WAREHAM is the video production manager at Wesleyan University.

Review:

"Though geared to those interested in New Haven and to art aficionados, this book will also more than satisfy academic researchers. The well-written, beautifully illustrated volume provides descriptions and analyses of West Rock and East Rock, New Haven's physical icons. ... Highly recommended (for) all academic, general, and professional audiences interested in Connecticut geology."―L. Yacher, Choice

"A beautiful and sensitive evocation of the role that the dramatic landscape of New Haven played in shaping the culture and art of that city, and beyond that to the foundations of American painting and the nascent science of geology in the nineteenth century. In a fascinating selection of paintings and diagrams, a master earth scientist documents the stages whereby the inhabitants of the region reshaped not only their natural environment but also their fundamental understanding of the forces that had wrought the land in which they dwelled."―Leo J. Hickey, professor of geology, Yale University

About this edition

• Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0819573744
• ISBN 13: 9780819573742
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 180