The Hudson River School: Nature and the American Vision

by Linda S. Ferber, The New-York Historical Society

In the mid-1800s, a group of painters based in New York turned their focus to the theme of the natural landscape to demonstrate the beauty of the wilderness. Their work enjoyed a popular national success that no other group of artists has achieved since. This seminal survey of the artists marks the first presentation of the outstanding collection at the New-York Historical Society. It features works by all the greatest artists of the group, including Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, Albert Bierstadt, and Frederic Church. Accompanying a major traveling exhibition, the book is also timed to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s first voyage up the Hudson River.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History

220 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Roy Lotz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hudson River School is arguably among the most important American art movements. At a time when the country was still relatively young, this group of painters cultivated a vision of the United States as a place of natural—as opposed to cultural—beauty. As I mentioned in my review of Ken Burns’s National Parks, the appreciation of natural beauty does not, apparently, exist innately within us. Rather, it developed through history, helped along by writers and artists who directed our collective gaze and shaped our collective sensibilities. And I think the artists in these pages deserve a good deal of the credit for revealing the beauty of untamed wilderness.

I doubt that the artists would have focused on New York State had not the country been still culturally and economically dominated by the east coast. There are plenty more dramatic landscapes out west. That being said, I greatly enjoyed seeing paintings of places within a short drive of my home town—indeed, in one case, within a short walk. As it happens, my grandmother still lives in the Catskill Mountains, a few hours north, which was another favorite haunt of these painters. So for me this book felt like an artistic celebration of home. As I jogged in the local wilderness reserve after reading, I was newly able to appreciate the charm of the Hudson Valley.

The book itself is gorgeous, full of large reproductions of the most famous works of this school, which capture some of the awe of the full-sized canvasses. The accompanying information is short, unobtrusive, but thoughtful and informative. On a purely technical level, every one of these painters was impressive—rendering light, atmosphere, and even the specific species of plants and textures of the local bedrock with scientific accuracy. Yes, this was the Romantic era, and so the paintings are sometimes overly dramatic, with touches of questionable taste (such as the little stereotyped figures who inevitably occupy the foreground). But at their best, they are just as luminous and sublime as the finest works of impressionism.

In a couple of weeks, I will be visiting Olana, the former residence of Frederic Edwin Church—maybe the most famous of the bunch—which overlooks the Hudson. Just across the river is the former residence of Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School; and not too far off at the Kaaterskill Falls, a lovely waterfall that was a popular subject for these painters. Even now, you see, these artists are helping to connect Americans with their homeland.

[Dan Griswold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures and informative text about the Hudson River School of American painters.

[Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent reproductions of the paintings. Worth three times the full price of 50.00. Details of the paintings are breathtaking. The text is informative and descriptive full of details that aren't well known. These paintings are not the usual masterpieces but those that are kept buried in the vaults of the New York Historical Museum. It is about time that they were let out to show off.

[John Lunger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick notes:

Landscape art is beautiful, but it’s not really where my natural interest in art resides. However, I would like to start to pick at the edges of American art, so here we are. The ending was the most interesting - focusing on Thomas Cole’s series of five paintings on the Course of Empire. Additionally, works around Niagara Falls and their studies of European landscape and Arcadian vistas grabbed my attention the most.

“New” Notable Painters for later note:
- Victor de Grailly
- William Hart
- Worthington Whittredge
- Jasper Francis Cropsey
- Louisa Davis Minot

Quotes/Excerpts:
- the strength of this metaphor also derived from the ongoing search for national identity, an intellectual route grounded in the notion that what defined Americans was their relationship with the land.
- (Worthington Whittredge) During the early 1860s, he traveled to the sketching grounds of the Hudson River School, and as a landscape painter grappled with the differences between the “well-ordered forests” of Europe and the chaotic growth of North America’s “primitive woods”.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous and scholarly - perhaps definitive.

[Peter Lipták · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veľmi dobre spracované. Vyvážené množstvo obrazovej dokumentácie a textu.

[Laurens Trommel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prachtig geïllustreerd overzichtswerk van de collectie van de New York Historical Society. Geeft een goed beeld van de Hudson River School.

[Wendy]

Beautifully illustrated and fascinating book.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much useful mainly as an view into the New York Historical Society collection, it offers little in the way of insight into the Hudson River School. It surprised me that there wasn't more in the way of context in this meandering exploration which often reproduces the same painting within a few pages of each other, for no apparent reason, just pages apart. Thin, in every sense of the word.