Hawthorne Voorhees Catalog

8 have otherwise and likely contributed to his decision to pursue a career in art. Voorhees had a life-long interest in the natural sciences, which no doubt gave him a fuller appreciation of the landscapes of New England and Bermuda to which he was inextricably tied. 2 In addition, his perception of landscape was fur- ther informed by his indefatigable enthusiasm for cycling. He cycled endlessly around the Northeast region, between Paris and its environs during his sojourns in France, and surely around Bermuda later in life on what he lovingly referred to as his “wheel.” This mode of transportation provided both an imme- diate and intimate interaction with the land not found in other forms of long-distance travel. While he never expounded on how this experience may have shaped his relationship to landscape painting, his paintings stand as a testament to his adoration of the infinite subtleties that it presented him. Voorhees received his B.A. in chemistry in 1891 from the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University. He continued his studies in chemistry by pursuing a master’s degree at Columbia University, but frequent entries in his diary at this time indicate a growing frustration with chemistry and a greater interest in the fig 3. The Four Seasons , Oil on canvas, 11 3 ⁄ 4 x 56 inches, Estate stamp, verso