Memorial Art Gallery at University of Rochester acquires c. 1870 Julie Hart Beers painting

The Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) of the University of Rochester (NY) on June 11, 2025, announce the acquisition of Birch Tree beside a Woodland Path (1870), an oil painting by Julie Hart Beers (American, 1834–1913), a woman painter who worked within the Hudson River School movement. This is the first work by Beers to enter MAG’s permanent collection and marks a meaningful step toward recognizing the often-overlooked role of women artists in 19th-century American landscape painting.

Julie Hart Beers studied under her brothers James McDougal Hart and William Hart, also Hudson River School painters. The newly acquired Birch Tree beside a Woodland Path joins James McDougal Hart’s Sunset Glow – Autumn, also painted in 1870, and already a part of MAG’s permanent collection. The acquisition not only strengthens the museum’s American art collection but also prompts important conversations about the contributions of women in the Hudson River School movement.

Though not yet on public view, Birch Tree beside a Woodland Path will appear in upcoming installations of the American Art Galleries.

About the Memorial Art Gallery

The Memorial Art Gallery showcases art from antiquity to the present day, including the outdoor public Centennial Sculpture Park. In addition to its permanent collection, MAG offers a year-round schedule of special exhibitions, lectures, concerts, tours, after-hours social events, and family activities. Learn more about the Memorial Art Gallery here.

Hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 11:00 am–5:00 pm, Thursdays & Second Fridays, 11:00 am–8:00 pm. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Admission: $20; senior citizens, $18; college students with ID and children 6–18, $9. Always free to members, University of Rochester faculty, staff, students, and children five and under. Half-price general admission on Thursdays 5:00–8:00 pm, is made possible by Monroe County. Discounted admission tickets are available when purchasing online. For more information, call 585.276.8900 or visit www.mag.rochester.edu.