Who We Are
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, NY, marks the birthplace of the formative art movement of the United States, now known as the Hudson River School of American landscape painting, as it was founded by Thomas Cole (1801-1848). The nationally recognized historic site is an affiliate of the National Park Service and operates as a forward thinking nonprofit organization embracing change and continually pursuing authenticity and resonance. Thomas Cole’s profound influence on America’s cultural landscape and the historic context of his work inspires us to engage broad audiences through innovative educational programs that are relevant today. Our programming and operations are continually evolving under our initiatives for Greening and Diversity, Equity and Access.
Vision Statement
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site will be the leading source for education and scholarship that inspires cultural and environmental awareness of the American landscape and the continuing impact of Thomas Cole’s art and ideas.
Mission Statement
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site preserves and interprets the home, and studios of Thomas Cole, the founder of the Hudson River School of painting, the formative 19th-century art movement of the United States. Cole’s profound influence on America’s cultural landscape and the historic context of his work inspires us to engage broad audiences through innovative educational programs that are relevant today.
Land Acknowledgement
It is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, we are learning, speaking, and gathering on the ancestral homelands of Muhheaconneok or Mohican, The People of the Waters That Are Never Still, who are the Indigenous peoples of this land. Despite tremendous hardship in being forced from here, today their community resides in Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to building a more inclusive and equitable space for all. We respect the enduring relationships that exist between these peoples and the land and waterways.
Staff
STAFF
Elizabeth B. Jacks, Executive Director
Sonja Ashley, Gardener
Martha Bradicich, Museum Guide
Lilac Buttons, Gardener
Michaela Ellison-Davidson, Museum Guide
Margaret DiStefano, Marketing & Visitor Services Coordinator
Lora Lee Ecobelli, Museum Guide
Jessica Goon, Events, Communications, & Design Manager
Jennifer Greim, Director of Advancement & External Affairs
Traci Horgen, Director of Finance & Administration
Bob Howard, Grounds & Facilities Assistant
Maya Junkins, Museum Guide
Amanda Malmstrom, Associate Curator
Kate Menconeri, Chief Curator / Dir. of Curatorial Affairs, Contemporary Art, & Fellowship
Garry Nack, Facilities Manager
Eugene O’Brien, Bookkeeper
Maura O’Shea, Deputy Director
Heather Palmer, Director of Visitor Engagement
Madeline Pelletier, Museum Guide
Mike Russell, Assistant Facilities Manager
Jordan Shook, Museum Guide
Paul Stankus, Senior Development Manager
Nancy Winch, Museum Guide
Beth Wynne, Education Coordinator
2024-25 COLE FELLOWS
Frances Baker-Tucker
Megan Betke
Cait Gurley
Elizabeth Vazquez
Board of Trustees
Lisa Fox Martin, Chairman
Marianne Lockwood, Vice Chairman
Warner Shook, Vice Chairman
Tom de Swardt, Treasurer
Susan Ball, Secretary
Elizabeth B. Jacks, Executive Director
Emma Davidson Tribbs
Erin Dziedzic
Carrie Feder
Nina Matis
Anne J. Miller
Jenny Park Adam
Stephen Shadley
Tara Sullivan
Hudson Talbott
Evelyn Trebilcock
Susan G. A. Warner
Trustees Emeritus
Stephen Dunn
Linda Gentalen
Michel Goldberg
Sybil Tannenbaum
Maynard Toll
Jack Van Loan
New Studio, © Peter Aaron/OTTO
National Council
Kevin J. Avery, Senior Research Scholar, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor in the History of Art, Yale University
Annette Blaugrund, Former director of the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Art, NYC
Linda S. Ferber, Senior Art Historian & Museum Director Emerita, New-York Historical Society
Ella M. Foshay, Independant Scholar
Eleanor Jones Harvey, Senior Curator (Painting & Sculpture), Smithsonian American Art Museum
Patricia Junker, Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art, Seattle Art Museum
Elizabeth Kornhauser, Alice Pratt Brown Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Katherine Manthorne, Professor of Modern Art of the Americas, City University of New York
Mark D. Mitchell, Holcombe T. Green Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture, Yale University Art Gallery
Barbara Novak, Helen Goodhart Altschul Professor of Art History Emerita, Columbia University
Paul D. Schweizer, Director Emeritus, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
Nancy Siegel, Professor of Art History, Towson University
Kiki Smith, Artist
Scott Manning Stevens/ Karoniaktatsie (Akwesasne Mohawk), Associate Professor of Native American Studies and English; Director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Program; and Founding Director of the Center for Global Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Justice, Syracuse University
Alan Wallach, Ralph H. Wark Professor Emeritus of Art and Art History & Professor of American Studies, The College of William & Mary
Newsletters
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site publishes an annual newsletter available here on our website. Learn about where we’ve been and where we’re going.
Annual Reports
Filled with information on our exhibitions, education, outreach and development and a letter from the Executive Director, Elizabeth B. Jacks, the Annual Report provides an exciting overview of the National Historic Site each year.
2019 Historic Structure Report on the 1815 Main House
The HSR was prepared by John G. Waite Associates, Architects, with support from the National Park Service.
Life at Cedar Grove Research Report
The Life at Cedar Grove research report was prepared by independent researcher Maureen Hart Hennessey for the Thomas Cole National Historic Site Interpretive Planning Project, with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Cultural Landscape Report
The Cultural Landscape Report was prepared by Heritage Partners and Robert M. Toole.
Special appreciation to Raymond Beecher, the preservation angel who saved this National Historic Site, and whose research on aspects ofthe Cedar Grove story, as cited in the footnotes of this report, enriched this study.
The Thomas Cole Site programs and operations are supported by the National Park Service, Warner Foundation, David Bury and The Bay & Paul Foundations, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, Enoch Foundation, The Educational Foundation of America, KHR Family Fund, Brown Foundation, The J. M. Kaplan Fund, Tianaderrah Foundation, and the Kindred Spirits Society of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site.
Programs and operations are also supported by a grant awarded to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site by New York State’s Empire State Development and the I LOVE NY Division of Tourism.
Staff photo by Adam T. Deen