A Host of Invisibles: Landscape Prints by Robert Sudlow

Category : MulvaneExhibits

Location: Main Level Galleries

December 5, 2025–March 21, 2026

My pigments and canvas never do very well at imitating nature; that trick or technique that mimics the camera is not convincing. What holds savor for me is a host of invisibles—the wind, the smell of earth, or that incredible sense of presence that the seasons bring.
–Robert Sudlow

Robert Sudlow (1920–2010) spent decades capturing the many moods of the Kansas landscape. Rain, snow, or shine, he painted and sketched outdoors in order to imbue his work with a sense of the depicted place. Suggestive rather than precise, his landscapes evoke the movement and changeability of the central plains.

Though Sudlow was primarily known as a painter, he also had a fruitful collaboration with The Lawrence Lithography Workshop from 1979 to 1998. Under the guidance of master printer Michael Sims, Sudlow created dozens of lithographs that evoke the light, space, and changeful atmosphere of this region.

In 2022, the Mulvane Art Museum received a generous gift of these prints from the collection of Joan Sehdev. A Host of Invisibles features a selection highlighting the range of techniques he brought to bear on his lithographic impressions of eastern Kansas. His prints invite you to experience rather than simply see the landscapes—to feel the invisible sensations that create the unique character of this place.