
Albert Pinkham Ryder, The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse), c. 1896-1908, oil on canvas.
It was supposed to be the big one.
“A Wild Note of Longing: Albert Pinkham Ryder and a Century of AmericanArt” was scheduled to open at the New Bedford Whaling Museum this summer.
Ryder, best known for his mythological and allegorical paintings and dark moody seascapes, was born in New Bedford in 1847. With that other Albert (Bierstadt), the great landscaper of the American West, Ryder is one of the most beloved, visionary and storied native-son artists of the Whaling City.
Among South Coast artists and aficionados, there was a palpable buzz about the exhibition. And then the pandemic happened. And life changed. The museum closed its doors to the public on March 13.