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Currently Featured in the FHK Gallery
Joseph Tubby, Artist: Rondout, New York

A retrospective of Joseph Tubby (1821-1896), a nineteenth century Kingston artist noted for his paintings of local landscapes, is featured in the Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery for the 2008 season.   

Born in England, Tubby moved to Rondout as an adolescent when the new village was fast emerging alongside the Delaware and Hudson Canal.  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.

A self-taught landscape artist, Tubby was a disciple of the Hudson River School and painted in that style throughout his career. He 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. 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 Kingsston’s Rondout District.

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 exhibit in the FHK Gallery features 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 in Kingston’s Stockade National Historic District.

Other paintings by Joseph Tubby: View from Rondout to Hussy Hill, Autumn in the Catskills, Hussy Hill Near the Rondout

Calendar of Events

FHK Gallery

Ongoing: Saturday - Sunday, 1-4 p.m. May 3 thru October 26

"Joseph Tubby, Artist: Rondout, New York" - Exhibit featuring paintings of regional landscapes by 19th century Kingston artist, Joseph Tubby. Admission free. 1-4 p.m. Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery, corner Wall-Main Streets, uptown Kingston.

1812 Johnston House Tour Guided tours of c.1812 Federal style house with private collection of 18th and early 19th century American furnishings and decorative arts displayed in eight elegant room settings. Adult $5; child under 16, $2. Fred J. Johnston Museum, corner Wall-Main Streets, uptown Kingston.

1658 Stockade National Historic District Walking Tour

Tour dates: May 3, June 7, July 5, August 2, September 6, October 4

Guided walk through the largest intact early Dutch settlement in New York State featuring old stone houses and historic sites related to the birth of New York State in Kingston in 1777. Includes interior tour of 1812 Johnston House featuring a private collection of antique furnishings and decorative arts. Adult $10; child under 16, $5. Departs first Saturday of the month at 2 p.m. from the Friends of Historic Kingston Museum, corner Wall-Main Streets, uptown Kingston.

Rondout National Historic District Walking Tour

Tour dates: May 31, June 28, July 26, August 30, September 27, October 25

Guided walk of Kingston's waterfront area that rose as a prosperous maritime village in the 19th century. Some uphill walking involved. Adult $5; child under 16, $2. Departs last Saturday of the month at 11 a.m. from the Kingston Heritage Area Visitors Center, 20 Broadway, downtown Kingston.