Painting at the End of the Ice Age

Painting at the End of the Ice Age

David Rosenthal Returns to Valdez

Many Valdez residents are aware of David Rosenthal and his distinctive landscape oil paintings. This summer, Rosenthal’s work returns to the Valdez Museum showcasing a new body of work in his solo exhibition, David Rosenthal, Art and Science: Painting at the End of the Ice Age. Running from May 18 through September 2, this exhibit features paintings, watercolor studies and drawings of many of the glaciers in Prince William Sound, and some from the Cordova and Valdez areas. There will also be a science component, with informational panels describing the work of a number of scientists who study the glaciers in south central Alaska.

Rosenthal, a Cordova-based artist, has travelled with scientists as a resident artist around Prince William Sound to create his works. Through this exhibition, the artist aims to tie together his fine art with the science that has always played a role in its creation, and contributed to Rosenthal’s understanding of the landscape. Interpretive panels will describe the scientists’ research, and its effect on the creation of these works.

Rosenthal has been lured to cold climates regularly to record snow, ice, and landscapes. With dramatic compositions, atmospheric use of color, and eye for detail, his paintings of glaciers and icebergs are realistic yet distinctively ethereal. As an artist & art teacher, Rosenthal has taught and continues to teach many students in Alaska, instructing students and artists in many programs, including the Alaska Artists in the Schools Program, Prince William Sound College, and University of Alaska Fairbanks summer sessions. Rosenthal was a contributor to the Valdez Museum’s 2014 exhibition, Community, Disaster and Change, and in the museum’s 2008 exhibition Brilliant & Blue, paired with fellow Cordova artist Paula Payne. Recent exhibitions by Rosenthal have been held at the Pratt Museum, Alaska State Museum, and Cordova Historical Museum. His work can be found in numerous private collections, and those of the National Science Foundation, Valdez Museum, Frye Art Museum, and the University of Alaska Museum of the North, among many others.

Painting at the End of the Ice Age runs May 18 – September 2, 2018, at the Valdez Museum. An opening reception free to museum members will be held at the museum on May 18, 5 to 7 PM. For more information, call 835-2764 or email info@valdezmuseum.org. Funded in part by the Alaska State Council on the Arts.

This exhibit is made possible by the wonderful support of the Alaska State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Copper Valley Electric Association Community Foundation,