Born in England’s industrial northeast in 1801, artist Thomas Cole immigrated to America as a young man. Here, he found a country brimming with unchartered and untamed wilderness. His masterful handling of light, composition, and aerial perspective captured the sublime character of the American wilderness.
Cole found his unique place as one of the first artists to apply the style of European Romanticism to American landscapes and gave birth to what we know today as the Hudson River School.
His Early Years
"View of Fort Putnam," 1825, by Thomas Cole. Oil on canvas; 27.25 inches by 34 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art. (Public Domain)
Cole had a keen eye and taught himself to paint by observing the works of other artists. In 1822, he began to work as a portraitist. One of his patrons, George Bruen, financed a summer trip for him to visit New York’s Hudson Valley in 1825. There, he painted five landscapes from scenes of the Catskill Mountains, Kaaterskill Falls, and Cold Spring (New York’s Hudson Highlands).
The landscapes “Lake With Dead Trees (Catskill),” “Kaaterskill Upper Fall, Catskill Mountains,” and “View of Fort Putnam” were displayed in the window of William Coleman’s bookstore in New York. This exhibition became a turning point in the young artist’s career. The paintings caught the attention of Col. John Trumbull, an artist and president of the American Academy of Fine Arts, who purchased the painting of Kaaterskill Falls. Artists William Dunlap and Asher B. Durand were also impressed with Cole’s artistry and purchased the other two artworks on display. This acknowledgment earned Cole a fellowship in the American Academy when he was still in his 20s.
Fathers of Conservation
Friends Thomas Cole and William Cullen Bryant reminisce in the sweeping landscape of the Hudson River Valley. “Kindred Spirits,” 1849, by Asher Brown Durand. Oil on canvas; 46 inches by 36.2 inches. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas. (Public Domain)
While traveling abroad from 1829 to 1831, Cole met a number of wealthy Americans in Europe who later became his valued patrons. His famous series “The Course of Empire,” chronicling the rise and fall of the ancient world, was commissioned by patron and art connoisseur Luman Reed. While painting this series (1834–36), Cole wrestled with a great dilemma: The industrial development that was advancing civilization also had the power to destroy the very wilderness that he loved. This drove Cole to become an outspoken conservationist.
Author James Fenimore Cooper, poet William Cullen Bryant, and Cole are sometimes considered the fathers of the conservation movement. With the wilderness being a “fitting place to speak to God,” as Bryant wrote, they believed that nature was the manifestation of sublime providence. In their work, they described the American wilderness, once seen as limitless but now in need of conservation.
Influenced by the essays from American transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Hudson River School became the initial catalyst for the creation of the national park systems. Their paintings of American canonical landscapes showcased the unique relationship between the country’s people and their land, encouraging the quest for a national identity.
‘The Voyage of Life’
“The Voyage of Life: Youth,” 1842, by Thomas Cole. Oil on canvas; 52.8 inches by 76.8 inches. National Gallery of Art, Washington. (Public Domain)
The year 1836 was a momentous time in Cole’s life. His father, as well as his beloved patron Reed, passed away. Later that year, Cole married Maria Bartow, and the newly wedded couple made their home in the Catskills, where they entertained a number of prominent artists and literary figures. Their first child, Theodore Alexander Cole, was born on New Year’s Day in 1838. Cole’s recent experiences with the death of his father and the birth of his first son informed his next allegorical series, “The Voyage of Life.” The series represented the four stages of human life (childhood, youth, manhood, and old age) and was commissioned by Samuel Ward, a wealthy philanthropist, who passed away before the paintings were completed.
While traveling in Europe again in 1841, Cole painted a second series of “The Voyage of Life” and shipped the canvasses to New York. He returned to America in the summer of 1842 on Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s first ocean-going steamship: SS Great Western. The world was changing and new modes of transportation were shortening distances while urbanizing land. Cole was all too aware of the fragility of the natural wonders of American landscapes. His work and the work of his pupils, Frederic Church and Benjamin McConkey, brought renewed awareness of American wilderness—becoming part of the call for its conservation.
Bob Kirchman is an architectural illustrator who lives in Augusta County, Va., with his wife Pam. He teaches studio art to students in the Augusta Christian Educators Homeschool Co-op.
