Reframing Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School

Thomas Cole is widely known as one of the founding fathers of the Hudson River School art movement. He was an immigrant from England in the 19th century, whose art quickly gained popularity in the United States and inspired male and female landscape artists of the time. The Hudson River School artists went on to create some of the most iconic American landscape art still exhibited in museums today. From his home in Catskill, NY Thomas Cole created paintings that helped fuel romanticism about the untouched natural beauty of America.  This media gallery, teaching tips, and discussion questions explore how historians are now trying to contextualize our understanding of this period by acknowledging indigenous perspectives and the female artists associated with this art movement.