Thomas Cole
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- For the New Zealand mayor, see Thomas Cole (mayor)
Image:Thomascole2.jpg Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 - February 11, 1848) was a nineteenth century American artist and is often called the father of the Hudson River School. Cole is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that flourished in the mid-19th century and was concerned with the realistic and detailed portrayal of nature.
He was born at Bolton-le-Moors, Lancashire. In 1818 his family immigrated to the United States, settling first in Philadelphia and then in Steubenville, Ohio, where Cole learned the rudiments of his profession from a wandering portrait painter named Stein. However, he had little success painting portraits and his interest shifted to landscape. Moving Pittsburgh in 1823 and then to Philadelphia in 1824, where he drew from casts at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, he rejoined his parents and sister in New York City early in 1825. In New York he sold three paintings to George W. Bruen, who financed a summer trip to the Hudson Valley where he visited the Catskill Mountain House and painted the ruins of Fort Putnam. Returning to New York he displayed three landscapes in the window of a bookstore, where they attracted the attention of the painter John Trumbull, who sought him out, bought one of his canvases, and put him into contact with a number of his aristocratic friends including Robert Gilmor of Baltimore and Daniel Wadsworth of Hartford, who became important patrons of the artist.
Cole was primarily a painter of landscapes, but he also painted allegorical works. The most famous of these are the five-part series, "The Course of Empire", now in the collection of the New-York Historical Society and the four-part "Voyage of Life." There are two versions of the latter, one at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., the other at the William-Munson-Proctor Museum in Ithaca, New York.
Cole influenced his artistic peers, especially Asher B. Durand and Frederic Edwin Church, who studied with Cole from 1844 to 1846. Cole spent the years 1829 to 1832 and 1841-1842 abroad, mainly in England and Italy; in Florence lived with the sculptor Horatio Greenough. After 1827 he had a studio in Catskill, New York. In 1836 he married Maria Bartow of Catskill and became a year-round resident. He died at Catskill on 11 February 1848.
Cole dabbled in architecture, a not uncommon practice at the time when the profession was not so codified. Cole was an entrant in the design competion held in 1838 to create a new state government building in Columbus, Ohio. His entry won third premium, and many contend that the finished building, a composite of the first, second and third place entries, bears a great similarity to Cole's entry.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition{{#if:{{{article|}}}| article {{#if:{{{url|}}}|[{{{url|}}}}} "{{{article}}}"{{#if:{{{url|}}}|]}}{{#if:{{{author|}}}| by {{{author}}}}}}}, a publication now in the public domain.
External links
- Cedar Grove - The Thomas Cole National Historical Site in Catskill, NY
- Find-A-Grave profile for Thomas Cole
- White Mountain paintings by Thomas Cole
Selected works
 The Voyage of Life Old Age (1842) |
 Angels Ministering to Christ in the Wilderness (1843) |
 Autumn Landscape (Mount Chocorua) (1827-28) |
 The Present (1838) |
 View of Monte Video Seat of Daniel Wadsworth Esq (1828) |
 The Oxbow (The Connecticut River near Northampton) (1836) |
 The Garden of Eden (1828) |
 The Cross and the World Study for -The Pilgrim of the World on His Journey (1846-48) |
 L-Allegro (Italian Sunset) (1845) |
 Indian at Sunset (1845-47) |
 Romantic Landscape with Ruined Tower (1832-36) |
 Frenchman's Bay Mt. Desert Island (1844) |
 The Vale and Temple of Segesta Sicily |
 The Course of Empire The Arcadian or Pastoral State (1836) |
 Scene from -Manfred (1833) |
 The Subsiding of the Waters of the Deluge (1829) |
 Landscape (1825) |
 The Course of Empire The Savage State (1836) |
 View on the Catskill Early Autumn (1837) |
 Schroon Lake (1838-40) |
 The Architect's Dream (1840) |
 Interior of the Colosseum Rome (1832) |
 View in the White Mountains (1827) |
 Autumn in the Catskills (1827) |
 The Voyage of Life Manhood (1840) |
 The Temple of Segesta with the Artist Sketching (1843) |
 The Return (1837) |
 Schroon Mountain Adirondacks (1838) |
 Cross at Sunset (1848) |
 Summer Twilight |
 Catskill Landscape (1846) |
 American Lake Scene (1844) |
 The Cross and the World Study for -The Pilgrim of the Cross at the End of His Journey (1846-48) |
 Indian Pass Tahawus (1847) |
 Morning Mist Rising Plymouth New Hampshire (A View in the United States of American in Autunm) (1830) |
 Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1828) |
 View of Florence from San Miniato (1837) |
 A Wild Scene (1831-32) |
 The dream of the architect 210 Sun Unedited |
 The Departure (1837) |
 Mount Aetna from Taormina (1844) |
 Mountain Sunrise Catskill (1826) |
 Roman Campagna (1843) |
 Expulsion Moon and Firelight (1828) |
 The Voyage of Life Childhood (1842) |
 Landscape Composition Saint John in the Wilderness (1827) |
 Il Penseroso (1845) |
 American Lake Scene |
 Kaaterskill Falls (1826) |
 Catskill Mountain House The Four Elements (1843-44) |
 The Course of Empire Desolation (1836) |
 Sunrise in the Catskill Mountains (1826) |
 Falls of Kaaterskill (1826) |
 Sunny Morning on the Hudson River (1827) |
 Italian Scene Composition (1833) |
 The Vale and Temple of Segesta Sicily (1844) |
 Moonlight (1833-34) |
 Evening in Arcady (1843) |
 Genesee Scenery (1847) |
 The Consummation The Course of the Empire (1836) |
 The Hunter's Return (1845) |
 The Picnic (1846) |
 An Italian Autumn (1844) |
 View Across Frenchman's Bay from Mount Desert Island After a Squall (1845) |
 The Cross and the World Study for -The Pilgrim of the World at the End of His Journey (1846-48) |
 The Cross and the World Study (1846-48) |
 Landscape with Dead Tree (1828) |
 Indian Sacrifice (1826) |
 Mount Chocorua New Hampshire (1827) |
 The Course of Empire Destruction (1836) |
 Daniel Boone Sitting at the Door of His Cabin on the Great Osage Lake Kentucky (1826) |
 Tornado (1835) |
 The Past (1838) |
 The Clove Catskills (1827) |
 A View near Tivoli (Morning) (1832) |
 Home in the Woods (1847) |
 Aqueduct near Rome (1832) |
 View in the White Mountains c1827 |
 Landscape the Seat of Mr. Featherstonhaugh in the Distance (1826) |
 The Voyage of Life Youth (1842) |
 Arch of Nero (1846) |
 Lake with Dead Trees (Catskill) (1825) |
 Prometheus Bound (1846-47) |
 Valley of the Vaucluse |
 Mount Etna (1842) |
 Portage Falls on the Genesee (1839) |
 Valley of the Vaucluse (1841) |
 Gelyna (View near Ticonderoga) (1826-29) |
 Mount Etna from Taormina (1843) |
 A Rocky Glenn (1846) |
 The Gardens of the Van Rensselaer Manor House (1840) |
 River in the Catskills (1843) |
River in the Catskills (1843) |
The Gardens of the Van Rensselaer Manor House (1840) |
A Rocky Glenn (1846) |
Mount Etna from Taormina (1843) |
Gelyna (View near Ticonderoga) (1826-29) |
Valley of the Vaucluse (1841) |
Portage Falls on the Genesee (1839) |
A View near Tivoli (Morning) (1832) |
Mount Etna (1842) |
Valley of the Vaucluse |
The Clove Catskills (1827) |
Prometheus Bound (1846-47) |
Lake with Dead Trees (Catskill) (1825) |
Arch of Nero (1846) |
The Voyage of Life Youth (1842) |
Landscape the Seat of Mr. Featherstonhaugh in the Distance (1826) |
View in the White Mountains c1827 |
Aqueduct near Rome (1832) |
Home in the Woods (1847) |
The Past (1838) |
View Across Frenchman's Bay from Mount Desert Island After a Squall (1845) |
Tornado (1835) |
Daniel Boone Sitting at the Door of His Cabin on the Great Osage Lake Kentucky (1826) |
Landscape Composition Saint John in the Wilderness (1827) |
The Course of Empire Destruction (1836) |
Mount Chocorua New Hampshire (1827) |
Indian Sacrifice (1826) |
Landscape with Dead Tree (1828) |
An Italian Autumn (1844) |
The Picnic (1846) |
The Cross and the World Study (1846-48) |
The Cross and the World Study for -The Pilgrim of the World at the End of His Journey (1846-48) |
The Hunter's Return (1845) |
The Consummation The Course of the Empire (1836) |
Genesee Scenery (1847) |
The Voyage of Life Childhood (1842) |
Evening in Arcady (1843) |
Moonlight (1833-34) |
The Vale and Temple of Segesta Sicily (1844) |
Italian Scene Composition (1833) |
Sunny Morning on the Hudson River (1827) |
Falls of Kaaterskill (1826) |
Sunrise in the Catskill Mountains (1826) |
The Course of Empire Desolation (1836) |
Catskill Mountain House The Four Elements (1843-44) |
Kaaterskill Falls (1826) |
American Lake Scene |
Il Penseroso (1845) |
Expulsion Moon and Firelight (1828) |
Roman Campagna (1843) |
The Departure (1837) |
Mount Aetna from Taormina (1844) |
The dream of the architect 210 Sun Unedited |
Mountain Sunrise Catskill (1826) |
A Wild Scene (1831-32) |
View of Florence from San Miniato (1837) |
Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1828) |
Morning Mist Rising Plymouth New Hampshire (A View in the United States of American in Autunm) (1830) |
Indian Pass Tahawus (1847) |
The Cross and the World Study for -The Pilgrim of the Cross at the End of His Journey (1846-48) |
American Lake Scene (1844) |
Catskill Landscape (1846) |
Summer Twilight |
Cross at Sunset (1848) |
Schroon Mountain Adirondacks (1838) |
The Voyage of Life Old Age (1842) |
The Return (1837) |
The Temple of Segesta with the Artist Sketching (1843) |
The Voyage of Life Manhood (1840) |
Autumn in the Catskills (1827) |
View in the White Mountains (1827) |
Angels Ministering to Christ in the Wilderness (1843) |
Interior of the Colosseum Rome (1832) |
The Architect's Dream (1840) |
Schroon Lake (1838-40) |
View on the Catskill Early Autumn (1837) |
The Course of Empire The Savage State (1836) |
Landscape (1825) |
The Subsiding of the Waters of the Deluge (1829) |
Scene from -Manfred (1833) |
The Course of Empire The Arcadian or Pastoral State (1836) |
The Vale and Temple of Segesta Sicily |
Frenchman's Bay Mt. Desert Island (1844) |
Romantic Landscape with Ruined Tower (1832-36) |
Indian at Sunset (1845-47) |
L-Allegro (Italian Sunset) (1845) |
The Cross and the World Study for -The Pilgrim of the World on His Journey (1846-48) |
The Garden of Eden (1828) |
The Oxbow (The Connecticut River near Northampton) (1836) |
View of Monte Video Seat of Daniel Wadsworth Esq (1828) |
The Present (1838) |
Autumn Landscape (Mount Chocorua) (1827-28) |