Nancy Siegel's Susie M. Barstow: Redefining the Hudson River School (Lund Humphries, 2023) is the first-ever biography of Susie M. Barstow, a greatly under-rated Hudson River School artist, teacher, and adventurer. I really enjoyed reading about Barstow's adventurous life and beautiful art.
Category: Hudson River School
The Past: Thomas Cole’s imaginary tournament
Thomas Cole's The Past (1838) has recently taken hold of my imagination in a big way. This cheerful depiction of a medieval tournament is one of several delightful Cole paintings I've discovered through my newest research project. Here are my many thoughts on this delightful painting.
The Landscape Paintings of Robert Duncanson
Robert Duncanson (1821/2-1872) was an early Hudson River School painter from the United States and Canada. His work is gorgeous, but we don't talk much about him today.
At Atlantic City by William Trost Richards
I discovered it while choosing works for my recent Luminism article on DailyArt Magazine, and I can't get it out of my head. It seems to depict an otherworldly fairyland... but it actually depicts a casino town on the New Jersey shore.
Art That Inspires Me: Thomas Cole
I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that Thomas Cole's work is on my list of art that inspires me. To talk about why I love Cole's work in general, I would probably have to write a whole book, so I'm going to focus on one particular painting that I recently saw for the first time. It's called A Snow Squall, and it was painted in 1825.
The Romance of the Mountains at the Newark Museum
Thoughts on the Newark Museum's exhibition The Rockies & The Alps: Bierstadt, Calame, and the Romance of the Mountains (March through August 2018).
Thomas Cole’s Journey: Atlantic Crossings
Thomas Cole's Journey: Atlantic Crossings just opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I was one of the first people to see it. The show presents Cole within the landscape painting tradition of his native England. I loved the exhibition, and you can find out why in my review.
Hudson River School Day
Thomas Cole and Frederick Edwin Church, the two most prominent Hudson River School painters, both had homes and studios in the Catskill area of New York. One summer day, I went up there to visit the two houses, which are now museums open to the public for tours. This was my experience.
American Art of the Week: View from Mount Holyoke (The Oxbow) by Thomas Cole
Romanticist and landscape painter Thomas Cole was born in England but came to success in New York in the 1820s. He was a founder of the so-called Hudson River School. View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, is among Cole's best-known works.
December 7th: Winter in Switzerland by Jasper Cropsey
Jasper Francis Cropsey, Winter in Switzerland, 1861. Private collection. Photo via the-athenaeum.org. Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823-1900) is one of my favorite American painters. He was once of the so-called Hudson River School artists - nineteenth-century American artists who painted the then-undeveloped landscape of the adolescent United States. Cropsey is best known for his depictions of north eastern… Continue reading December 7th: Winter in Switzerland by Jasper Cropsey