The Hudson River School: American Landscape Artists

American Artists

by Bert D. Yaeger

"Inspired by the unspoiled beauty of the wilderness, the painters of the Hudson River School were the first masters of the American landscape, creating sweeping scenes of the New World in all its pristine grandeur. This volume, with 70 full-color illustrations, presents the timeless work of this remarkable group of artists"--Jacket.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of the painters, artwork, styles, and philosophies of the Hudson River School American art movement. Beautiful and large reproductions of many art pieces were included.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just an enjoyable book to view, as well as to actually read, too. The main artists of The Hudson River School are presented here. And the book sets the scene, explaining the artistic movements that came before and the thinking that caused the art of The Hudson River School to become popular.

There is just enough art shown to maintain interest and let the reader see the differences in style between the main artists of this school of art.

The painting of Lake George by Kensett was just beautiful. While many of The Hudson River School paintings are familiar to me, I had not seen that particular painting before. And if it was the belief of the artists of this school that their paintings should not try tell a specific story, but rather to evoke a feeling in the viewer, than this painting has achieved that goal.

This book was very concise, yet gave an overview of the art and artists and beliefs of the Hudson River School. It had just enough of a happy balance of information, and not so in-depth as to feel like a schoolbook.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice pictures but the narrative, while containing much information, especially about specific painters, does not synch very well with the illustrations of the art. Often several pages separate the information from the illustrations, and some art discussed, which you'd really like to see, does not have photos. Don't let this one be your only source book on the subject.

[Miller Wortham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated and elegantly written. Three stars in a “meets expectations” kind of way. It was a good orientation to the major figures and trends of the Hudson River School, although some of the terminology used and historical figures/trends mentioned were beyond me. Looking forward to a more educated Met experience having read this book.

[Hannah]

I wanted to like it, but it read like a boring textbook. Also, many of the paintings were so dark that you could hardly distinguish any detail. I looked many of the paintings up online, and they were much lighter with elements you couldn’t even see in the printed book.

[Claire James Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good primer, if a little simplistic.

[Crystal M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tbh I skimmed this one. The writing style was dry. I found this is the kids section of my library but it was clearly misshelved, so I was expecting something livelier and simpler.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of the Hudson River School. Some of it was a little dry. Gorgeous examples of their work though. A fast read as well.

[Chris Gager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great paintings, good paintings, so-so paintings and one really goofy painting by Cole. Plus a very useful and interesting historical text. Mainly a coffee table book. In one of Cole's paintings based on "The Last of the Mohicans" you can see a suggestion of the setting of one of the scene's from M. Mann's movie.

[Eric Armusik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a landscape artist but this book is probably the most inspiring collection of landscape artists and the history of their movement I've seen. Brilliant reproductions of their paintings. A great collection of artists like Church, Bierstadt, and Cole.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good guide to the Hudson River School.