New Jersey. A Pleasant Likeness: Portraits and Landscapes of Central New Jersey, 1770-1920.

An Exhibition Organized by the Historical Society of Princeton. Squibb Gallery, Princeton, 8 October through 19 November 1989. Catalogue introduction by William H. Gerdts. Squibb Corporation and Historical Society of Princeton, New Jersey, 1989. Wraps, staple-bound, 32 pages. All the illustrations are paintings. About half the works listed are illustrated. Fine. Summary:

A Pleasant Likeness: Portraits and Landscapes of Central New Jersey, 1770–1920 (1989) is a 32-page exhibition catalog published jointly by the Squibb Corporation and the Historical Society of Princeton. Featuring a critical introductory essay by the eminent American art historian William H. Gerdts, the publication serves as a permanent record of a major loan exhibition held at the Squibb Gallery in Princeton, New Jersey, from October 8 through November 19, 1989.

The catalog documents a curated visual history of the region spanning a 150-year period of significant cultural, agricultural, and industrial transformation.

Core Themes & Content

• The Region as Subtext: The central thesis of the exhibition and text revolves around the geographic and cultural identity of central New Jersey. Rather than seeing the area merely as a transit corridor between New York and Philadelphia, the collection frames the local landscape and its people as a distinct, self-contained community possessing its own artistic heritage.

• The Evolution of Portraiture: Gerdts traces the changing nature of regional portraiture from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. The essay explores how early likenesses served as status symbols for wealthy landowners and merchants, later evolving into more intimate, psychologically complex character studies as the region urbanized and the fine arts became more institutionalized.

• The Idyllic and Industrial Landscape: The landscape portion of the catalog tracks the physical evolution of Central New Jersey's topography. The included paintings capture a spectrum of environments—from pristine, idealized 18th-century farmsteads and historic local estates (including views of Princeton University's Nassau Hall) to the changing landscape of the early 20th century.

• A Gathering of Institutional Treasures: The catalog records an expansive collaborative effort. The underlying exhibition brought together paintings, drawings, and artifacts culled from an array of premier private collections and major regional repositories, creating a unique, temporary visual anthology of Central New Jersey history.

Curatorial & Publication Structure

True to the format of a scholarly regional monograph, the staple-bound catalog balances Gerdts' contextual prose with an illustrated portfolio. Roughly half of the historical pieces listed in the exhibition are reproduced as plates within the volume, offering readers a side-by-side study of changing artistic techniques across generations. The book concludes with a formal exhibition checklist documenting the provenance and technical details of the loaned works.

A Pleasant Likeness is a valuable piece of regional art history. Under the direction of the Historical Society of Princeton and with Gerdts' expertise, the publication frames local portraits and landscape paintings not merely as charming historical decorations, but as vital primary documents that map the socio-economic and cultural identity of early Central New Jersey.