Dennis Sheehan paints in the Barbizon style with remarkable authority & faithful adherence to his 19th century precursors. In the tradition of the Tonalist painters, Sheehan creates landscapes of mood, affected by nature's changing seasons. Today, in a cultural firmament that has been defined as Postmodern, a new generation of American painters is returning to the old landscape seeking a renewed vision. The cultural strategies that they employ are as diverse as any from the past. In most cases, these painters consciously strive to enter into a dialogue with the history of the White Mountains art. Their work, grounded in a sophisticated appreciation of what has come before, is in many cases deliberately discursive with a tradition that has been all but erased twice by historical and cultural forces. Dennis Sheehan is a contemporary landscape painter whose work is inspired by George Inness and other artist of the 19th century. Sheehan attended the motserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA and the Vesper George School of Art in Boston. Maintaining a muted Tonalist chromatic scheme, Sheehan, like Inness before him, has temerity to eschew picturesque scenery-his Conway Meadows avoids any reference to the traditional climax view of Mount Washington in the interest of evoking atmosphere and the appearance of the natural world as it is observed. Optical truth combined with poetic resonance searches for some ineffable quality of nature beyond words. Sheehan’s work is the product of the conscious distillation of prior imagery ranging from the American Barbizon to the abstractions of Franz Kline. Without the legacy of action painting, Sheehan’s art would be less forceful and evocative than it is. Dennis founded the Sheehan Academy of Painting, scheduled to open in the fall of '08. Students will be immersed in traditional painting methods derived from both the 19th century Munich and American tonalist schools of painting. Sheehan's work can be found in many prestigious collections throughout the country including the White House as well as many individual collectors such as singer/ songwriter James Taylor.