Tyler Art Gallery to feature water-themed works of namesake painter, two emeriti faculty

A themed collection of work from James Gale Tyler, namesake of SUNY Oswego’s Tyler Hall and Tyler Art Gallery, plus emeriti art professors Paul Garland and Sewall Oertling, will open the college’s Tyler Art Gallery fall season in “Water: Swift, Slow and In Between.”

The exhibition will open Sept. 3 and conclude Oct. 6. A reception, free and open to the public, will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6, in the gallery on the main floor of Tyler Hall.

James Gale Tyler (1855-1931) was a well-known and respected marine painter who hailed from Oswego before moving to New York City and developing an international reputation for his craft. His marine subjects are portrayed in oil paintings and sketches of ships encompassing alternately a concern with precise detail and romantic mood.

The exhibition will include three Tyler paintings from the college’s permanent collection, including an oil-on-campus work depicting a three-masted ship received as a donation last year. The space-within-a-space exhibition of Tyler’s work also will include nine original ship drawings lent to the college from the Oswego County Historical Society’s Richardson-Bates House Museum, 135 East 3rd St. in Oswego, where works by Tyler are on permanent display.

SUNY Oswego has a long-standing relationship with the historical society, said Michael Flanagan, director of Tyler Art Gallery, as the college regularly provides the Richardson-Bates House Museum with interns while museum studies classes visit the museum for a valuable educational experience.

Talented artists, educators

Garland and Oertling were long-time art professors at SUNY Oswego who have maintained a strong commitment to making art throughout their lives. Each has a unique vision inspired by the land, water and sky in Central New York, Flanagan noted, and this common inspiration shines through despite their widely divergent approach to artmaking.

Paul Garland, who taught between 1967 and 2000 in Oswego’s art department, retained an intensive engagement in studio work throughout his time. His numerous solo exhibitions include in galleries in New York City, Toronto, Chicago, Buffalo, Minneapolis and other major art centers. Syracuse’s Everson Museum also mounted two one-person exhibitions of his large-scale paintings in 1971 and 1981.

An author of several books about and a widely acclaimed expert in Asian art, Oertling taught for SUNY Oswego from 1974 to 2002. In addition to his own celebrated work and ongoing teachings in a variety of media, Oertling has remained a respected curator of Chinese and Japanese art, selecting works and writing catalogue descriptions for pieces of historical significance for exhibitions.

Tyler Art Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. It is closed Mondays and during college breaks and holidays.

For more information, visit oswego.edu/tyler-art-gallery. For details of other SUNY Oswego fine and performing arts events, visit arts.oswego.edu.