North Mountain and Catskill Creek Yale University Art Gallery

1838

To British-born Thomas Cole, the American wilderness seemed an untouched Eden. Considered the founder of the Hudson River School, he imbued his scenes of glittering lakes and deep forests with the spiritual reverence and awe traditionally associated with moralistic history paintings. Making oil and pencil sketches from nature, he would later combine sketch and memory, translating "a vivid picture in the mind’s eye" onto canvas with fluid brushwork. Real and romantic elements gave visual expression to the vast wilderness that Americans were just coming to appreciate.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 26 7/16 × 36 7/16 in. (67.2 × 92.6 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Anne Osborn Prentice
Accession Number: 1981.56
Geography: Catskill, New York
Culture: American
Period: 19th century
Classification: Paintings
Disclaimer: Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Abraham M. Cozzens, by 1848 to 1868; William Henry Osborn, from May 22, 1868; Ann Osborn Prentice, to 1981; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.

Bibliography

Annette Blaugrund et al., Shifting Shorelines: Art, Industry, and Ecology Along the Hudson River, exh. cat. (New York: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, 2024), 40–42, fig. 15

Object copyright

No Copyright - United States

Additional information

Object/Work type

landscapes (representations)

Subject

clouds, men, mountains, shrubs, sky, trees, water

Inscriptions

Inscribed in graphite on verso of wood panel:
The valleys rest in shadow and the hum
Of gentle sounds and low toned melodies
Are stilled, and twilight spreads her misty wing
In broader sadness o'er their happy scene
And creeps along the distant mountain sides
Until the setting sun's last lingering beams
Wreathe up in many a golden glorious ring
Around the highest Catskill peak.

Signed

Signed at upper left: T. Cole.Inscribed at upper right: Catskill / 1838- / -
Inscribed in chalk on verso of left panel: T. Cole

Technical metadata and APIs

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