Thomas Cole (painter)
Thomas Cole was a prominent English-born painter, known for his significant contributions to American landscape art in the 19th century. Born on February 1, 1801, in Bolton-le-Moors, England, he immigrated to the United States in 1818, where he began his artistic journey as an engraver's assistant before studying oil painting. Cole's works primarily focused on nature, featuring meticulous and expressive depictions of landscapes, especially the Catskill Mountains, which he cherished. He became a pivotal figure in the Hudson River School movement and was a founding member of the National Academy of Design.
Cole's notable works include the "Course of Empire" series, which explores themes of civilization's rise and decline, and "The Voyage of Life," representing the stages of human existence. Throughout his career, he infused his landscapes with religious and philosophical meanings, enhancing the narrative quality of his art. His paintings have left a lasting impact, inspiring future generations of landscape artists and solidifying his legacy in American art history. Cole passed away on February 11, 1848, in Catskill, New York, leaving behind a rich portfolio that continues to resonate with viewers today.
Thomas Cole (painter)
Painter
- Born: February 1, 1801
- Birthplace: Bolton-le-Moors, England
- Died: February 11, 1848
- Place of death: Catskill, New York
Education: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Significance: Thomas Cole was an English American landscape painter. His work often featured scenes from the Hudson River Valley, especially the Catskill Mountains. Cole had many patrons throughout his career. In his later years, he gave his work a storytelling quality and began inserting religious and literary elements into his art. Cole's landscape works of art had a major impact on the course of American landscape painting, and he is credited with inspiring the Hudson River School art movement of the mid-nineteenth century.
Background
Thomas Cole was born on February 1, 1801, in Bolton-le-Moors, England. As a child, he worked as an engraver's assistant and was also an apprentice to a designer of calico prints. His family immigrated to the United States in 1818, and Cole continued his work assisting engraver's in Philadelphia before moving to Steubenville, Ohio, in 1819. In Ohio, Cole began studying oil painting and learned techniques from a local portrait painter. He continued to develop his talent over the next few years. He mainly chose nature as his subject, painting intricate and expressive images of items such as trees and branches. In 1823, he began studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, working a number of jobs in the art business to finance his schooling.
Two years later, Cole moved to New York City with his family. He made a point to visit the state's many natural wonders, traveling up the Hudson River into the Catskill Mountains. He painted numerous landscape portraits of the Catskills, several of which were sold to prominent American art collectors. Cole's talent and reputation earned him a place as a founding member of the National Academy of Design in 1826. Demand for his paintings continued to grow throughout the 1820s, and some of his more famous early creations include 1827's The Last of the Mohicans, which depicts a scene from the James Fenimore Cooper novel of the same name, and 1828's The Garden of Eden. His patrons included a number of influential figures of early America such as John Trumbull, Daniel Wadsworth, William Dunlap, and Asher B. Durand.
Cole's American scenery commissions were plentiful during this period, but the artist sought to give his paintings a new quality that evoked religious and moral meaning. He was not satisfied with his initial attempts, so he traveled to Europe to study the works of old masters. He made friends with fellow artists Joseph Mallord William Turner and John Constable. Cole then traveled to Italy where he toured Rome and Florence. In Italy, he came up with an idea for a series of landscape paintings depicting the rise and fall of civilization. After returning to America in 1832, he presented his idea to New York merchant Luman Reed who decided to commission his project. Over the next four years, Cole created his five-canvas Course of Empire series of paintings. The works earned him much acclaim and a good deal of attention within the American art world.
Life's Work
The late 1830s and 1840s saw Cole giving his work a more narrative purpose. His landscapes featured elaborate renderings of ancient and medieval scenery as well as depictions of biblical and literary scenes. His 1837 paintings The Departure and The Return tell a story of a group of knights, led by their lively lord, leaving on a heroic crusade only to return drained and defeated as they carry their dying lord home. Cole's work also took on a distinctive religious and philosophical tone. His The Voyage of Life series consisted of paintings portraying the four stages of human life: Childhood, Youth, Manhood, and Old Age. Throughout his life, Cole also penned a number of essays and poems. In 1836, he published his "Essay on American Scenery," which detailed his views regarding landscape art. He continued to produce varied scenery of the American landscape during this period, and was particularly fond of portraying his beloved Catskill Mountains.
Cole embarked on his second trip overseas in 1841, again spending much of his time in Italy and visiting Sicily. He returned to America a year later and began work on a number of foreign and American landscape paintings. These works displayed an observable change in the way Cole depicted atmosphere and light. He improved the accuracy of these elements, giving his work an even more majestic appearance. In 1844, Cole accepted a pupil named Frederic Church into his studio in Catskill, New York. Church studied with Cole for two years and later became a prominent member of the Hudson River School of American landscape artists.
Cole used his newly polished technique to create a series of paintings aimed at portraying the quest for spiritual wisdom and redemption. This series was originally meant to be a collection of five paintings called The Cross and the World, but Cole never completed the series. Cole contracted pleurisy in 1848 and passed away on February 11, 1848, in Catskill, New York.
Impact
Cole's paintings have given countless viewers insight into the pre-industrial beauty of the American landscape. His work inspired a new generation of landscape painters and was highly influential to the renowned Hudson River School of artists. His art remains an important contribution to the canon of American landscape painting
Personal Life
Cole married Maria Bartow in 1836, and the couple settled in Catskill, New York. They had five children together.
Principal Works
Paintings
Sunrise in the Catskills, 1826
The Course of Empire series, 1833–1836
The Departure, 1837
The Return,1837
A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountains, 1839
The Voyage of Life series, 1842
Home in the Woods, 1847
Bibliography
"Cole, Thomas." National Gallery of Art, www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/artist-info.1155.html?artobj‗artistId=1155&pageNumber=2#biography. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
"The Hudson River School." Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hurs/hd‗hurs.htm. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
"Thomas Cole." Smithsonian American Art Museum, americanart.si.edu/artist/thomas-cole-943. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
"Thomas Cole." Thomas Cole National Historic Site, thomascole.org/biography-of-thomas-cole/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
"Thomas Cole (1801–1848)." Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cole/hd‗cole.htm. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
"Thomas Cole: The Complete Works." Thomas-Cole.info, www.thomas-cole.info/the-complete-works.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.