Thomas Cole: Life, Paintings, and Views Landscape painting was an extremely
important time during the middle of the nineteenth century. One of the leading
practitioners of landscape painters in America was Thomas Cole. He went to many
places seeking the natural world in which he used direct observation to show his
audience the untainted nature by man.
His works helped to find goodness in American land and to help Americans take
pride in their unique geological features created by god. Thomas Cole inspired
many with his brilliant works by bringing satisfaction among the people who were
trying to find “the truth” (realism) through the works of others. Thomas Cole
was born on February 1, 1801 in Bolton, Lancashire, England. Due to financial
problems experienced by his family, at the age of fourteen Cole found work as a
textile printer and wood engraver in Philadelphia. In 1819, Cole returned to
Ohio where his parents resided.
Here Cole learned the oil painting techniques of a portrait painter named
Stein. During this time Cole was extremely impressed by what he saw in the
landscapes of the New World and how different they were from the small town of
England where he had come from. Art came to Cole naturally, he taught himself,
and one day set out to observe nature and the wilderness.
He began painting pictures by first making oil sketches of American rocks,
trees, sunsets, plants, animals, as well as distant Indians. From these sketches
he formed several paintings. He is famous for his allegorical collection called
the “The Course of Empire” and is well-known for his Landscape paintings, “The
Oxbow,” “The Woodchopper,” and “The Clove, Catskills.” In January of 1826, Cole
was known for the being the founder of the National Academy of Design.
During this time many people wanted Cole to paint pictures of American
scenery for them, but his main goal, he says, was to create a “higher style of
landscape that could express moral or religious meanings.” Cole continued to
paint and in 1836 he married Maria Barstow and settled in Catskill, New York.
Catskill was the place where he sketched a portrait of the Catskill Mountains
and the Hudson River. From these paintings he influenced a lot of other artists
such as Frederick Edwin Church along with Albert Bierstadt. Cole died on
February 11, 1848 due to an illness and was remembered by many whom he helped to
see the true vision of America.
Thomas Cole led the first American school of Landscape, called the Hudson
River School. This school included many leading artist such as Asher Brown
Durand, Thomas Doughty, as well as the second generation of artists such as
Frederick Edwin Church, Sanford Gifford, and Albert Bierstadt. These painters
shared a common background. They were Romantic Realists who found great wonders
in the countryside of the New World.
They searched the Hudson Valley and areas of New England to find unique
images of America. These realists combined detailed panoramic images with
moralistic insights, which they obtained from famous works of literature of
Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, and Bryant. They saw the landscape as having a
feeling of hopefulness, divinity, and harmony. This school was an important part
of the American culture. Many neighboring countries had crushed America during
the time of war and peace. Since that time, Americans yearned to see their
nation survive. In his paintings, Cole seems to focus on an ideal America.
He does this by painting vistas that mix both idealism and realism. He
impressed several of his colleagues teaching them that a landscape painter must
have strength, determination, and should be willing to conquer the hazards of
the weather and terrain in order to achieve success. In 1825, an artist named
John Trumball discovered Cole’s work in the window of a frame shop. Trumball
purchased many of Cole’s paintings and this was brought to the attention of many
critics who loved Cole’s style.
The success of the Hudson River School led to the formation of the National
Academy of Design. In the beginning of the 1800’s, artists such as Thomas Cole
painted pictures of the East and closer to the Hudson Valley. By the 1850’s
artists began to travel further into the west and distant places such as the
South American Tropical environments to capture a more spectacular American
wilderness. The result of Cole’s first sketch on this trip up the Hudson River
inspired a new generation of artists to follow his direction.
