Thomas Cole (1801–1848)
Catskill Mountain Landscape, n.d.
Oil on canvas, 12½ × 15½ in.
Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Gift of Richard Sharp, TC 2014.8

This Catskill Mountain landscape shows the local scenery Cole loved. A small cottage and deer perched along the water’s edge are just tiny dabs of paint in a grand vista. Cole uses scale to communicate how small humans are in contrast to nature. The thin wisps of smoke or fog rising up the mountain are mysterious. What is their source? Is it low cloud cover burning off in the sun or evidence of a train powering through this otherwise pristine landscape?

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