On the Road to Cragsmoor with Charles Courtney Curran

March 29, 2025–October 13, 2025

On the Road to Cragsmoor with Charles Courtney Curran is an exhibition that traces the American painter Charles Courtney Curran’s (1861–1942) entire career. The exhibition follows Curran’s journey from his childhood home in Sandusky, Ohio, to New York City, Paris, and ultimately Cragsmoor, an artist colony situated in the Shawangunk Mountains of New York where Curran spent the last forty years of his working career summering and painting. Curran often depicted scenes of summer leisure—filled with sunshine, flowers, and natural beauty—which made his work accessible and appealing to his contemporary clients and viewers today.

On view from March 29 through October 13, 2025, the exhibition is drawn from private and public collections, as well as the Albany Institute, and includes examples of his portraits, works inspired by French Symbolism, commercial illustrations, and his better-known impressionist paintings. Many of the paintings that Curran produced during those summers at Cragsmoor are his most recognizable, depicting children at play and women enjoying gardens and mountain views dressed in the fashionable white lingerie dresses of the period. The exhibition includes several period fashions from the Albany Institute’s costume collection that closely resemble those worn by Curran’s models.

Images from top: Charles Curran and Model Dorothea Storey at Cragsmoor [detail], unidentified photographer, c. 1915, gelatin silver photographic print, courtesy of Berg Family Collection; On the Cliff, Charles Courtney Curran, 1912, oil on canvas, courtesy of Berg Family Collection.

In the Press

"10 Art Shows to See in the Hudson Valley in April" – Brian K. Mahoney, Chronogram

"This retrospective showcases everything from his Symbolist experiments to his breezy Cragsmoor idylls—plus a side of period fashion for good measure. Art meets history in the Hudson Valley, and the road to Cragsmoor never looked lovelier."

Press Release

ALBANY, NY—The Albany Institute of History & Art presents On the Road to Cragsmoor with Charles Courtney Curran, an exhibition that traces the American painter Charles Courtney Curran’s (1861–1942) entire career. The exhibition follows Curran’s journey from his childhood home in Sandusky, Ohio, to New York City, Paris, and ultimately Cragsmoor, an artist colony situated in the Shawangunk Mountains of New York where Curran spent the last forty years of his working career summering and painting. Curran often depicted scenes of summer leisure—filled with sunshine, flowers, and natural beauty—which made his work accessible and appealing to his contemporary clients and viewers today.

Download press release here.

Related Programs & Events

Floral Design Workshop

Friday, May 2
5:30–6:30PM

The workshop is $40 for AIHA members; $50 for non-members
Advanced registration is requested; registration link forthcoming.

Join Pepper Floral for an immersive floral design workshop inspired by The Peris by Charles Courtney Curran. In this session, we’ll explore how to translate the soft luminosity and delicate contrasts of Curran’s work into floral form. Working with a serene palette of white roses, soft green foliage, and dark blue accents, participants will create their own arrangement that captures the painting’s ethereal mood—where light meets shadow and softness meets structure. The workshop will include guided techniques, and a focus on composition, color story, and movement.

Pepper Floral is a fine arts–inspired floral design studio specializing in event installations, hospitality florals, and seasonal compositions. Founded by designer Alli Dillenbeck, the studio merges fine art references with contemporary floral practices to create sculptural, color-driven arrangements With a decade-long background in wedding and event design, Dillenbeck draws from her lifelong engagement with the arts and designing events across New York and New England. After closing her former wedding planning studio in 2020, she shifted her creative focus entirely to florals—studying their form, gesture, and emotional resonance through the lens of fine art. Her work with Pepper Floral reimagines floral design as an expressive medium. Inspired by movements in painting and sculpture, each arrangement explores texture, movement, and palette, transforming space into an immersive, living composition.

Come early or stay after the workshop for First Friday! Enjoy free gallery admission from 5–7PM, music by DJ Sam, and a pop-up by our friends at The Larkin Hi-Fi, who will be serving a selection of natural wines, local beers, and a cocktail (and mocktail) special. After the museum closes, First Friday continues at The Larkin Hi-Fi right around the corner!