GARRISON, NY.- Boscobel House & Gardens announced its 2013 art exhibition, Robert W. Weir and the Poetry of Art. On display in the Exhibition Gallery at Boscobel beginning Sunday, August 11, this unprecedented showcase will include paintings, drawings and prints on loan from the West Point Museum -- many have never before been displayed in public.

Robert W. Weir (1803-1889) served as the drawing professor at the United States Military Academy for 42 years, 1834-1876, beginning at age 31 and retiring at age 73. Over that time, he taught 1,855 graduates including James McNeill Whistler and Seth Eastman. Art was an important subject for military training as it strengthened observational powers and provided important ways of recording visual information.

A long look at the work of Robert Weir reveals him as a lifelong student of art history who believed that art, poetry and science are interrelated. He spoke of “the poetry of art,” and he taught art as a form of poetry, an evocation of thought and as a science, a paradigm consisting of elements and methodologies commonly used by every artist. From the early Renaissance to the Industrial Age in which he lived, these were European concepts without which a work of art could not be made. Weir applied these paradigms in his own art and taught them, as well.

Robert W. Weir and the Poetry of Art opens at Boscobel August 11, 2013 and will run through November 30, 2013. The exhibition, containing 37 pieces of art, is open during regular business hours (Wed-Mon, 10am-5pm) and is FREE with a paid House or Grounds admission.

Boscobel is located on scenic Route 9D in Garrison New York just one mile south of Cold Spring and directly across the river from West Point. From April through October, hours are 9:30am to 5pm (first tour at 10am; last at 4pm); November & December 9:30am to 4pm (last tour at 3pm.) Boscobel is open every day except Tuesdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.