YONKERS, NY.- The Hudson River Museum presents Horizons: Paintings by Janet Langsam, which will be on view from February 27–June 21, 2026 in the Community & Partnership Gallery. This exhibition highlights a series of works by artist and arts advocate Janet Langsam that meditates on the shifting appearance of the horizon line across the four seasons.
Langsam’s lifelong fascination with the horizon has roots in her childhood in Bayswater, Queens, on the Rockaway Peninsula. She grew up experiencing ocean views and the beach, where water meets sky in clean linearity. In each of these abstract canvases, Langsam emphasizes the horizon by expanding the line into a band, creating a three-part composition that becomes a recurring visual motif and a point of connection. Reveling in color on this monumental scale led her to think of seasonal changes as a point of departure for this series. Together, these paintings surround the viewer in a panorama that conveys Langsam’s love of the creative process and of the natural world that has inspired artists for generations.
“The recurrence of horizons is comforting,” Janet Langsam states. “For me it is an affirmation that one season will follow another, much like the day follows the night. This installation of four of my largest paintings is about the ebb and flow of seasons and my lifelong reverence for nature.”
“It is an honor to have the opportunity to display these works by Janet Langsam, a true pillar of the Westchester and New York City arts communities,” states Laura Vookles, Chair, HRM’s Curatorial Department. “For millennia, people have looked into the distance and found the horizon, grounding themselves in the presence of earth meeting sky. Shown together for the first time, these paintings create a visual commonality in which we can all find deep meaning.”
Langsam studied painting at New York University in the 1960s and exhibited in Manhattan galleries as well as internationally, via the United States Information Agency, before serving as the CEO of ArtsWestchester for thirty-three years. Prior to ArtsWestchester, Langsam served as President and CEO of the Boston Center for the Arts (1987–1991) and held positions in three NYC Mayoral Administrations (Mayors John Lyndsay, Abraham Beame and Ed Koch), and was a founder and former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Queens Museum. As Deputy Commissioner of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, she convened the first meeting in 1978 of the cultural leaders of the fifty largest US cities, which became the USUAF. During her tenure at ArtsWestchester, she was a tireless advocate for artists and expanded the organization’s support of regional creatives to include exhibitions, programs, performances, and teaching opportunities that greatly enriched residents’ access to a full spectrum of the arts. Throughout her career in arts administration, Langsam remained a visual artist.
