Posted on 12/26/2018 3:34:03 PM PST by Rebelbase
Thomas Cole is known primarily as the father of the Hudson River School of landscape painting. Cole enjoyed the patronage of several prominent businessmen in New York City, and they would have been particularly interested in his depictions of the seemingly limitless resources of the country’s interior—the profusion of timber and the extensive network of rivers and lakes that would enable them to make their fortunes. They believed that settlement of the land would have nothing but beneficial effects.
It is Cole’s skill as an artist that enables him both to create an image that would both appeal to his patrons in its depiction of abundant resources and express his own concern about the effects of settlement on the land. In Cole’s Home in the Woods, a father returns home to the family cabin in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, bringing with him a fresh catch that will serve as the family’s dinner. The family has cleared the land themselves—the chopped-down trees and sawn logs are prominent in the foreground of the painting. And it is through this detail that Cole reveals his stance on the settlement of unspoiled land in the country’s interior. In his 1836 “Essay on American Scenery,” Cole lamented the “ravages of the axe” that were destroying the wilderness as early as the 1830s.
In Home in the Woods, the ravages of the axe are prominently represented in the foreground. The artist clearly contrasts the area around the cabin, shorn of trees and littered with the family’s belongings, with the pristine mountains in the background. He seems to warn the viewer that, as more and more people arrive, these unspoiled places will disappear.
Home in the Woods was commissioned by the American Art-Union, a subscription society founded by a group of New York businessmen in 1840. The goal of this organization was to educate and enlighten American citizens by exposing them to fine art. Members of the union joined by paying five dollars per year, for which they received minutes of annual meetings, a print based on a work of fine art, and a lottery ticket which put them in the running to win a work of original art. In 1847, the American Art-Union commissioned Thomas Cole to produce a work for addition to their catalogue. At the annual meeting that year, George Dwight of Springfield, Massachusetts, won Home in the Woods by lottery.
Oh, man. Never visited the museum? That’s a drag.
I discovered Cole thirty years ago and am a fan. My favorite is the Course of Empire series. Glad to see his name coming up on the forum. Thanks for posting.
Bookmark
The painting likely looks more like this:
Bet he kneels for the anthem.
That is a great painting. Thanks for posting, Consider yourself kicked, Rebelbase : )
before even opening this thread I thought to my self that my favorite paintings are Thomas Cole’s Voyage of Man.....
I once visited an advertising company. As I walked with the owner I noticed some artists at work. They were extremely good. Free handing things I would have guessed were made by some type of machine.
The really surprising thing is how little those artists were paid.
I had a girlfriend who was an airbrush artist. She took a picture from a magazine and recreated it with her airbrush in no time at all. It was dumbfounding to watch.
Bob Ross died many moons ago.
I’ve seen his paintings and been in awe of them many times. The Hudson River School. Also included Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt.
I have tried to incorporate some of that quality into my paintings, still am working on that.
I don’t think the painters of today (well maybe some) equate with the works of that era.
There was a girl in our Sunday School class back in the 70s who would paint a huge scene on a maybe 8 feet wide canvas and it would look just like a photograph.
A couple of years ago I decided to do a search of her work and was not surprised that she has been successful.
On the other hand I have a Niece who tried to make it as an artist and hasn’t had much sales. She did have a show of her work in Asheville, NC.
Fortunately her husband makes enough to support them.
This was so ME 15 or 20 years ago. Fortunately I've moved on to the serenity of the fourth in the series.
ML/NJ
Ditto, especially Nighthawks.
He was a retired USAF master sergeant and former drill instructor...you might want to guess again.
I believe these are at the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville AR. That is where I saw them.
THANKS SAM!(wALTON).
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