Hudson River School

The earliest art movement in America that was "home-grown", as opposed to being merely a transplant from Europe, was the Hudson River School of landscape painting. The genesis of this movement was the paintings of Thomas Cole, featured in an earlier post. The heyday of the Hudson River School was between 1855 and 1875; during this period its major painters, Frederic Edwin Church, Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt, were significant celebrities. By the turn of the 20th century, art had moved on and the Hudson River School was nearly forgotten.

The artists of this movement produced some of the greatest and most detailed landscape paintings in history. The opening of the American West, with its vast and dramatic landscapes, provided ample inspiration for the Hudson River School, which grew beyond its tame Northeastern US roots to document the American wilderness for an increasingly urbanized population.

Asher Brown Durand (1796-1886) was a contemporary of Thomas Cole, and may be considered a co-founder of the Hudson River School.

 Asher Brown Durand: God's Judgment Upon Gog (ca. 1851)

 Asher Brown Durand: Landscape with Covered Wagon (1847)

Next are a few by Herman Herzog (1831-1932, a long-lived fellow).

 Herman Herzog: Daybreak on a Snowy Morning (date not known)

 Herman Herzog: Season's Greetings (date not known)

 Herman Herzog: Sunset Near Low Creek, Florida (date not known)

Jervis McEntee was a lesser known figure in the Hudson River School.

 Jervis McEntee: Indian Summer (ca. 1861)

Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823-1880) was a leading member of the school. His paintings are characterized by an emphasis on light.

Sanford Robinson Gifford: Morning in the Hudson, Haverstraw Bay (1866)