The Hudson River School

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By SUSAN CATTO

Enjoying the Hudson River School

We want to see some of the sights that theHudson RiverSchoolpainted, if any of those places still exist. Can you suggest an itinerary, book or pamphlet that would guide us?-LeonoreLevit,Wilmette,Ill.

Considered the nation’s first school of painting, theHudson RiverSchoolencompasses more than 70 artists of the early and mid 19th century known for their realistic landscapes of theHudson RiverValley, theCatskill Mountainsand other locations. The time is right to follow in their footsteps: This month, the National Park Service (with several groups) opened Phase 1 of theHudson RiverSchoolArtTrail, a self-guided tour of seven sites featured in paintings.

Anchoring the tour are the former homes of Thomas Cole (1801-48), considered to be the group’s founder, and Frederic Church (1826-1900), one of its best-known artists. Cedar Grove, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, 218 Spring Street, Catskill, (518) 943-7465, lies at the foot of theCatskill Mountainson the western side of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Across the river, Church’s former home, the Olana State Historic Site, on Route 9G, Hudson, (518) 828-0135, is one of the region’s most popular destinations, featuring dramatic Persian architecture, lush grounds and river and mountain views.

According to Elizabeth Jacks, director of the Cole site, visiting all seven sites takes at least a day. Some are accessible by car and others by walking trails. “The sites that are the most remote will give you the most rewarding views,” Ms. Jacks said.

The new trail brochure includes maps as well as reproductions of the paintings. It is available at sites along the route or by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Post OfficeBox 426,Catskill,N.Y.12414.

At the New York State Tourism site, www.iloveny.com, you can click on Travel Ideas, then Cultural Tourism, and find a list of 22 sites whereHudson RiverSchoolworks are on view and where the artists lived and painted. Among the best vantage points: Fort Putnam and Trophy Point at the United States Military Academy at West Point, (845) 938-2638; Kaaterskill Falls, Route 23A, Haines Falls; and the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, (845) 437-5632, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, which has about 25 paintings from the Hudson River School on display at any time.

For hikers, a new book, “Catskill Mountain House Trail Guide: In the Footsteps of theHudson RiverSchool,” by Robert A.Gildersleeve, (Black Dome Press, $16.95 ), includes period illustrations and maps to painting sites.

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A NATURAL CANVAS

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Authors: Patricia Harris and David Lyon, GLOBE CORRESPONDENTS

Date: July 26, 2006

Page: E8

Section: Travel

CATSKILL, N.Y. In the typical Hudson River School painting, masses of cumulus clouds rise above an outsize vista of river and mountains. We always figured that those scenes were embellished by artistic license until we visited the painters’ haunts where the northern Catskill Mountains meet the Hudson River Valley.

As we crossed the Hudson on the high bridge at Castleton, the scenery was in our faces. We looked downriver past Rattlesnake and Coxsackie islands, and saw heaps of cumulus congestus percolating over the rippling spine of the distant Catskill ridges. The cult of American landscape began here when Thomas Cole started sketching and painting the wilderness near Catskill village in 1825. “Landscape hadn’t been `done’ yet,” guide Erica Benton explained on a tour of Cole’s home and studio, Cedar Grove. “He created a type of art that Americans could call their own.”

The yellow, Federal-style home features a wraparound veranda with sweeping views of Cole’s beloved Catskills. The tour progresses from the parlor where Cole was married in 1836 (his wife’s uncle owned the house) to the upstairs bedroom where he died in 1848 at 47. When the site opened as a museum in 2001, curators chose not to install artificial light in his studio on the property. “The light you see,” Benton said, gesturing to the large north windows, “was the light he painted by.”

Cedar Grove is the starting point of the Hudson River School Art Trail that ranges from artists’ homes to vistas that became touchstones of the heroic, ultimately patriotic style of landscape painting. The scenes vary in accessibility from roadside views to short walks to modestly challenging hikes. (Cedar Grove hands out a driving tour brochure.)

The logical base for the tour is Catskill village, a 19th-century river trade center on the rebound. Vacant storefronts still mar Main Street, but art galleries, antiques dealers, restaurants, and decor shops host evening wine receptions on the second Saturday of each month (www.mainstreetcatskill.com). The Community Theatre (www.thecommunity theatre.com) runs an independent film festival on Wednesday nights, which can be packaged with dinner at the ambitious Bell’s Cafe a few doors down. On Saturday mornings, the former ice warehouse at The Point, where Catskill Creek reaches the Hudson, becomes a farmers’ and artisans’ market with live entertainment.

Cole may have launched the Hudson River School movement, but his protege, Frederic Edwin Church, carried the celebration of nature to new heights. Literally. Among Church’s first sketches were long views of the river from the formidable eastern bank opposite Cedar Grove. Church built a farmhouse cottage on land adjacent to that bluff, and when he eventually purchased the hilltop, he constructed a fanciful Moorish palace, Olana, to drink in the views. (See related story on Page E7.) He was not above tidying up those views, even creating a lake that, as seen from his porch, seems to nestle in a distant bend in the Hudson. Olana is closed for renovations this year (Church’s paintings normally hung at Olana are on display in Maine at the Portland Museum of Art through Sept. 10), but the interpretive landscape tour touches on the salient points of how Church bent nature to his will.

Nature isn’t always so pliant. Torrential late-June rains washed out the highway (Route 23A) that visitors would normally drive to follow the Hudson art trail. A consultation with State Police revealed that there’s a scenic back route around the closure: Route 23 over the north side of Catskill Mountain, then Route 296 south. (Call State Police for updates at 518-622-8600.) The bypass adds about 20 miles to the drive, but it’s worth the time for dramatic scenery and the opportunity to detour through the resort village of Windham and on to Windham Vineyard & Winery (www.windhamvineyard.com) for a tasting on the deck amid the vines.

Although Route 296 connects to Route 23A west of the washout, we still couldn’t reach one of the most famous subjects of Hudson River School painters the view through Kaaterskill Clove (local parlance for a mountain notch) to 260-foot Kaaterskill Falls. Floods have ravaged both the road and the foot trail through the notch. But we did reach the less picturesque but still dramatic top of the falls by following County Route 18 (North-South Lake Road) to Laurel House Road, where there’s a parking lot at the end. Although the main trail (straight ahead) was closed because of erosion, a creekside trail leads about a half mile to the dizzying head of the highest waterfall in New York.

County Route 18 terminates at the North-South Lake Campground. In 1825, Cole sketched around North and South lakes (now joined). Those sketches evolved into his first breakthrough landscape paintings, including the famous “Lake with Dead Trees.” Although the area was remote when Cole visited, it’s now an active campground and recreation area within the Catskill Forest Preserve. Families toss softballs and horseshoes and children scamper in and out of the muddy water at North Lake Beach. But the deep forest, rocky hills, and overlooks are still there.

Prepared with walking sticks and sturdy shoes, we set out on the blue-blazed Escarpment Trail to see the heights. After scrambling up a clot of boulders about a quarter mile into the woods, we spied a yearling doe grazing along the trail. She looked up, stepped a few feet into the woods, and went back to chewing. We stared a moment, then kept on walking to the high ledges.

When Cole wrote his manifesto on landscape painting in 1835, he observed, “The most distinctive, and perhaps the most impressive characteristic of American scenery is its wildness.” We walked out onto the vertigo-inducing ledge at Artist’s Rock, where Cole often sketched, and observed a wooded valley spread out in the distance more than 1,000 feet below just like a Hudson River School painting.

All that was missing was a frame.

Contact Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Cambridge-based freelance writers, at harris.lyon@verizon.net.

NORTHERN CATSKILLS (N.Y.) ITINERARY

FRIDAY

2 p.m. Sound sleep

Carl’s Rip Van Winkle Motor Lodge

810 Route 23B, Leeds

518-943-3303

www.ripvanwinklemotorlodge.com

Many families come for the week to the 30 housekeeping cabins, but the 14 fresh and well-kept motel rooms rent by the night. Family-run mini-resort has playground, barbecues, picnic areas, and 160 acres of meadows and woods. $75-$90.

3 p.m. Birth of a movement

Cedar Grove

218 Spring St., Catskill

518-943-7465

www.thomascole.org

Home and studio of Thomas Cole vividly re-creates the spot where the painter saw America anew. Guided tour $7, Friday-Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., through October.

7 p.m. Waterfront grazing

Creekside Restaurant

162 West Main St., Catskill

518-943-6522

Huge burgers, racks of ribs, large steaks, and sandwiches available indoors or on deck overlooking marina on Catskill Creek. $6-$20.

SATURDAY

12:30 p.m. Fuel up

The Catskill Mountain Country Store & Restaurant

5510 Route 23 (Main Street), Windham

518-734-3387

You’ll be hard-pressed not to share your deli sandwich or burger with the friendly cats on the outdoor deck near the farm animal “looking zoo.” $7-$11.

2 p.m. Scale the heights

North-South Lake Campground

County Route 18, Hainesville

518-589-5058

www.dec.state.ny.us

Hiking trails reach aeries favored by Hudson River School painters. Swimming beach and boat rentals. Parking and day use fee $6 per car.

7 p.m. Country fare

Ursula’s Logsider Cafe

800 Route 23B, Leeds

518-943-2581

Hugely popular “country bistro” serves ample portions of diner food, including meatloaf and house specials of smoked chicken and ribs. $9-$13.

SUNDAY

10 a.m. Morning glory

Bell’s Cafe

387 Main St., Catskill

518-943-4070

Keith and Yael McMurrow’s snazzy in-town bistro does popular weekend brunch with Middle Eastern accents such as roast lamb panini with grilled vegetables and harissa. $7-$10.

11 a.m. Last sights

Thompson Street Cemetery, Catskill

Before leaving town, pay final respects to Thomas Cole’s grave in hilltop cemetery at junction of Thompson and Spring streets.

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Visitor Center

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The Visitor Center at the Thomas Cole site is located in part of an 1839 barn that was used as a storehouse for the farm operations at Cole’s home in Catskill. The other part of the building contains Thomas Cole’s “Old Studio”, the workspace that the artist used from 1839 to 1846, before his “New Studio” was completed. The charming 19th-century building with wide floorboards, exposed beams and the original bare wood walls on all sides, was restored to its original appearance in 2004. The Visitor Center now contains a great variety of books and gifts, public restrooms, and a welcome desk where visitors can purchase tickets and get information about their visit.

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Sunday Salon Lecture Series

Each year during the months of January through April, we offer lectures once per month on Sundays at 2 pm, bringing you engaging speakers who discuss topics related to the Hudson River School. Tickets are $9 or $8 for members, and each talk is followed by a reception. This year, for the first time, the lectures will be held in our brand-new building, the New Studio, which Cole himself designed. To celebrate its rebirth, the 2016 Sunday Salons and the 2016 exhibition will address the topic of Cole as architect. Learn more about the New Studio.

April 10, 2016

Wanda M. Corn
Artists’ Homes and Studios as Archive and Romance

Join nationally renowned art historian Dr. Wanda M. Corn, Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor Emerita in Art History at Stanford University, as she explores American artists’ homes and studios that, like the Cole property, have been preserved and opened to the public. She asks what these special places can teach us about the creative process and the history of art. Dr. Corn, chair of the advisory council for the Historic Artists’ Homes & Studios program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is a scholar of late 19th– and early 20th-century American art and photography. Active as a visiting curator and scholar, she has produced numerous books and exhibitions, including The Great American Thing: Modern Art and National Identity, 1915-1935.

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Employment at the Thomas Cole Site

Join Our Team

To work at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site is to be part of a team of excited and committed professionals, each with his or her own role to play in realizing our collective goals. Learn about our open employment opportunities below. We look forward to hearing from you.

If you are looking for information about the annual Cole Fellowship program, please find more information here. 

Museum Guides 

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site seeks seasonal museum guides at the historic site from late April through October 2024. We are hiring for two work week slots: 1) Wednesdays through Fridays, and occasional weekend days; and 2) Wednesdays – Fridays plus Sundays. The position offers the opportunity to join a dynamic team at a beautiful historic site in Catskill, New York, in the scenic Hudson Valley. Hourly rates range from $15 – $18, based on experience.

Essential functions and responsibilities include becoming skilled in the following:

  • Facilitate self-guided experiences for visitors at the home and studios of Thomas Cole, maintaining a level of knowledge in order to substantively inform the public and respond accurately to their questions
  • Lead guided tours of the site
  • Lead and/or assist with school programs, both on and off-site
  • Facilitate positive visitor experiences for visitors, school groups, and other audiences in a confident and professional manner
  • Act as the tour staff’s ‘go-to person’ on a rotating basis along with other guides to ensure daily tour operations are running smoothly. This includes tasks like managing unforeseen emergencies and facilitating large group visits.
  • Lead activities at events
  • Participate in group discussions to brainstorm innovative methods of historic site interpretation
    • Keep informed about special offers, events/programming, and the surrounding area of Catskill and be able to communicate this information to visitors
    • Keep informed about our policies, our operations, the structure of the season, and be able to communicate this information to visitors
    • Run the Visitor Center by greeting and orienting visitors, operating the cash register and online ticketing system for sales and reservations, and keeping the shop and desk area neat
    • Logistics of security, and opening/closing procedures
    • Help with small tasks around the site such as refilling brochures, wiping down interpretive panels, and maintaining visitor writing/art areas.

Qualifications: The position requires a comfort and natural ability with speaking in front of a group, a passion for learning about history, and the desire to communicate this knowledge and passion with others. The ideal candidate will enjoy working as part of a team, can problem-solve effectively and take initiative when needed, and can calmly handle many kinds of situations with patience, and with a smile. It is critical that the candidate be punctual, reliable, and responsible, as well as open to constructive feedback and new ideas. The position requires moderate physical activity including climbing stairs and moving about the historic site in hot summers and cool spring and fall weather.

We encourage you to apply even if you believe you do not meet all the qualifications listed. We value a wide range of perspectives and lived experiences, and the unique contributions they bring to our institution.

How to Apply
In a single PDF document, please submit (1) a resume, (2) a cover letter explaining why you are qualified and interested in the position, and (3) contact information for at least three professional references via e-mail to employment@thomascole.org. Please label the PDF as “last name_first name_Museum Guide.” Deadline to submit is April 5, 2024.

 

Part-time Bookkeeping Consultant

Reports to: Director of Finance and Administration (DFA)

Compensation: $30 – $40 per hour based on relevant experience

The bookkeeper is responsible for maintaining accurate and timely financial records for the organization. Position can be either in person or remote but preference will be given to local qualified candidates. Requires 2-6 hours per week. Essential functions and responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

  • Accounts Payable: On a weekly basis, record all payment transactions and issue payments, match credit card receipts and record transactions, follow up on missing receipts, balance petty cash. Follow up on stale check, voids and reissued payments as needed.
  • Accounts Receivable: On a weekly basis, record all deposit records– weekly bank deposits, merchant services account, point of sales systems, daily cash receipts from Visitors Center transactions during open season.
  • Payroll: On a bi-weekly basis, make payroll journal entries, reconcile quarterly payroll tax reports, keep records of w-9’s and file yearly 1096/1099’s, year-end payroll accruals.
  • Investment Accounts: On a monthly basis, reconcile and record transfers, stock gifts transactions, gains/losses & interest.
  • Reconciliations: Review bank activity on a weekly basis. In coordination w/ COO, follow up on unrecognized transactions. Perform monthly bank and credit card reconciliations, completing on a timely basis.
  • Record incoming receivables, pledges, prepaids as needed. Maintain accurate records of open receivables and payables, adjust inventory on an annual basis.
  • Make a schedule of and record year-end accruals, prepaids, deferrals etc. Record year-beginning accrual reversals.
  • Prepare and file quarterly sales tax.
  • Maintain electronic records for review by COO, Board Finance Committee and outside auditor.
  • With support from the COO, maintain a familiarity with the organization’s chart of accounts and QB classes.

Minimum Qualifications:

  • Must have 2-5 years in non-profit bookkeeping experience with demonstrated knowledge of nonprofit accounting principles, recording daily online POS sales, accounts payable and receivable, and the creation of journal entries in a general ledger.
  • Must have advanced knowledge of Quickbooks desktop and Microsoft environment (Outlook, Excel, Word) and apps such as Zoom
  • Ability to work independently
  • Keen attention to detail and the highest standards of accuracy and consistency
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Must be proactive and work effectively under strict deadlines

Application Instructions: In a single PDF document, please submit (1) a resume, (2) a cover letter explaining why you are qualified and interested in the position, and (3) contact information for at least three professional references via e-mail to admin@thomascole.org. References will not be contacted without applicant’s prior permission.

 

 

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site has a universal vaccination policy requiring a COVID-19 vaccination, including a booster, for all employees.  Requests for reasonable accommodation will be considered and decided on a case-by-case basis according to New York State and Federal Law.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a diverse workforce and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression), age, disability, or veteran status.

 

Staff photo by Adam T. Deen

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Press Releases

2024 Season

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the First-Ever Publications on Maria Bartow Cole (1813-1884) and Emily Cole (1843-1913), Who Lived in, Owned and Made Art on the Historic Property.

The Publications, Journal and Letters of Maria Bartow Cole and The Art of Emily Cole Coincide with the National Celebration of Women’s History Month.

Catskill, NY – March 26, 2024 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the publication of two books revealing…Read the Release.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces “Native Prospects: Indigeneity and Landscape” – A New Exhibition, Opening on May 4. 

The Exhibition of Historic and Contemporary Art and Cultural Artifacts Juxtaposes an Indigenous Approach to the Articulation of Land with the American Landscape Paintings of Thomas Cole

Catskill, NYFebruary 27, 2024 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that a new exhibition titled “Native Prospects: Indigeneity and Landscape”, curated by Scott Manning Stevens, PhD / Karoniaktatsie (Akwesasne Mohawk), will open on May 4 at the historic site in Catskill, NY. The exhibition juxtaposes…. Read the Release.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces Pop-Up Exhibition and Book with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Architecture

The Project “Imaginary Wilds: Architectural Interventions for the Thomas Cole National Historic Site” Presents Imaginary Designs for the Museum Campus that Address Real and Ideal Relationships Between Architecture and Landscape

Catskill, New York – February 13, 2024 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the upcoming pop-up exhibition and book Imaginary Wilds: Architectural Interventions for the Thomas Cole National Historic Site with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Architecture. The exhibition will open on March 9 and run through April 7, 2024…. Read the Release.

Announcing the 2024 Sunday Salons, the 21st Annual Speaker Series Presented by the Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Speakers Include the First Curator of Native American Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rising Scholars from Princeton and the Cole Fellows Program, and RPI Architecture Reimagines the Museum Campus

Catskill, New York – Monday, January 8 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the 2024 Sunday Salon speakers for the 21st annual series. The Sunday Salons present engaging speakers on new ideas in American art once a month from January through April…. Read the Release.

2023 Season

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the Opening of the Two-Part Exhibition “Women Reframe American Landscape”

The Show Reinserts 19th-Century Artist Susie Barstow into the History of Landscape Painting and Presents Contemporary Artists Who Expand and Challenge “Land” And “Landscape” Today

Catskill, NY – May 10, 2023 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the opening of the two-part exhibition Women Reframe American Landscape: Susie Barstow & Her Circle/ Contemporary Practices, which will run through October 29, 2023. It will subsequently travel…Read the Release. 

WMHT Launches Multiplatform Series Exploring the History of New York and the Nation During the Lifespan of Thomas Cole

Reframing an Empire acknowledges Cole’s paintings as a timeless treasure of the Catskills, and explores the people and context that extend beyond his canvas

Albany, NY – May 4, 2023 – WMHT Public Media, a multichannel public communications organization serving Eastern New York and Western New England, today announced the launch of its latest multiplatform project, Reframing an Empire, which explores the history of New York state and the nation during the lifespan of noted landscape painter Thomas Cole. … Read the Release.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the Exhibition “Women Reframe American Landscape”

The Show Reinserts 19th-Century Artist Susie Barstow into the History of Landscape Painting and Presents Contemporary Artists Who Expand and Challenge “Land” and “Landscape” Today

Catskill, NY – February 7, 2023 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the upcoming exhibition Women Reframe American Landscape: Susie Barstow & Her Circle / Contemporary Practices. It will open on May 6 and run through October 29, 2023. It will subsequently travel to the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, CT, from November 16, 2023 to March 31, 2024. … Read the Release.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site to Receive Grant Award from the National Endowment for the Arts to Support New Exhibition “Women Reframe American Landscape”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Commends the Thomas Cole Site

Catskill, NY – January 19, 2023 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to receive a Grants for Arts Projects award of $20,000. … Read the Release.

2022 Season

Announcing the 2023 Sunday Salon Speakers and Winter Sunday Tours  

This Year Marks the 20th Year of the Signature Speaker Series hosted by the Thomas Cole National Historic Site 2004-2023 

Catskill, NY – December 12, 2022 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the 2023 Sunday Salon speakers on new ideas in American art and the accompanying Sunday Tours. … Read the Release.

Empire State Development Announces Groundbreaking of $1.8 million visitor center and infrastructure improvements at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill

Project at National Historic Site in Greene County will Support Regional Tourism Economy

Catskill, NY – November 15, 2022 – Empire State Development (ESD) today celebrated the groundbreaking of the $1.8 million Master Plan, with a new visitor center as its centerpiece, at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, located in the village of Catskill, Greene County. The new 1,800 square foot visitor center, to be named The Cole Center, will serve.. …Read the Release

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces Completion of New Digital Education Prototype, A Program of the Jack Warner Gateway to Learning

The Free Digital Experience is Designed to Teach the Curriculum and is Being Piloted with Regional Teachers and Students for User Feedback

Catskill, NY – September 28, 2022 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the completion of a new digital education prototype, a program of the Jack Warner Gateway to Learning: Exploring American History Through American Art.. … Read the Release

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the Opening of a New Exhibition: “Marc Swanson: A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco”

The Exhibition Draws Inspiration from Thomas Cole and is a Companion to the Show of the Same Name at MASS MoCA

Catskill, NY – July 19, 2022 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the opening of a
new exhibition – “Marc Swanson: A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco” that will run through November 2022. … Read the Release

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the Opening of a New Exhibition: “Thomas Cole’s Studio: Memory and Inspiration” Curated by Franklin Kelly, Senior Curator of the National Gallery of Art.

The Exhibition Reassembles the Paintings That Were in Cole’s Studio When He Died in 1848 and Explores the Significance of Cole’s Late Work for Art in America.

Catskill, NY – May 5, 2022 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the Opening of a New
Exhibition: “Thomas Cole’s Studio: Memory and Inspiration” Curated by Franklin Kelly, Senior Curator of the National Gallery of Art. … Read the Release

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Publishes Thomas Cole’s Journal, Never Before Available in Print

The Journal, Which Cole Entitled Thoughts & Occurrences, Exposes the Inner Workings and Private Thoughts of the Seminal American Artist and a New Window into Art, Politics, and Family Dynamics in 19th Century America

Catskill, NY – April 14, 2022 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that it has transcribed and published Thomas Cole’s private journal, making this primary source document available to the public for the first time. … Read the release.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Receives $50,000 from National Trust for Historic Preservation to Help Tell the Full American Story

$2.5 Million Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities Through the American Rescue Plan

Catskill, NY – April 7, 2022 – At a news conference today, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Telling the Full History Preservation Fund announced its award of $50,000 to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. The grant is one of 80 given to select organizations nationwide with projects that help preserve, interpret, and activate historic places to tell the stories of underrepresented groups in our nation. … Read the release.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces a New Exhibition: “Marc Swanson: A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco”

The Exhibition Draws Inspiration from Thomas Cole and is a Companion to the Show of the Same Name at MASS MoCA

Catskill, NY – March 8, 2022 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that the exhibition “Marc Swanson: A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco” will open on July 16 and run through November 27, 2022. The exhibition is a companion to the show on view at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA, that runs from March 12, 2022, through January 1, 2023. Both exhibitions are curated by Denise Markonish, Senior Curator and Director of Exhibitions at MASS MoCA. … Read the release.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces a New Exhibition: “Thomas Cole’s Studio: Memory and Inspiration” Curated by Franklin Kelly, Senior Curator of the National Gallery of Art.

The Exhibition Reassembles the Paintings That Were in Cole’s Studio When He Died in 1848 and Explores the Significance of Cole’s Late Work for Art in America.

Catskill, NY – February 23, 2022 – Thomas Cole was already the most famous landscape painter in America when he died unexpectedly at the age of 47 in February 1848. His legacy continues to influence American art to this day, and a new exhibition “Thomas Cole’s Studio: Memory and Inspiration” explores the creative directions of the painter’s last years, the rich and diverse group of works left in his studio at his death, and how his example so powerfully affected the evolution of art in America. … Read the release. 

The Thomas Cole Site’s Annual “Sunday Salons” Series Returns for its Nineteenth Year on Sunday, January 30

The Series Presents Timely Conversations on American Art and Landscape with Artists, Writers, Community Members, Scholars, and the Next Generation of Leaders in the Field

Catskill, NY – January 13, 2022 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site’s annual “Sunday Salons” series returns for its nineteenth year. … Read the release.

2021 Season

In its 20th Anniversary Year, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces a Major New York State Grant Award of $360,000 to Implement the Site’s Master Infrastructure Plan

Catskill, NY – November 30, 2021 – As it celebrates 20 years of being open to the public, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today a major grant award of. … Read the release.

Thomas Cole Site and Olana Take “Cross Pollination” Beyond the Galleries

Catskill and Hudson, NY – August 19, 2021 – The Olana Partnership at Olana State Historic Site and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site are engaging the public in a series of events in the Hudson Valley that expand on their current collaborative exhibition, “Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment,” which runs through October 31. … Read the release.

Major Collaborative Exhibition “Cross Pollination” Opens at Olana State Historic Site and Thomas Cole National Historic Site in New York’s Hudson River Skywalk Region

Contemporary Art, Acclaimed 19th-Century Paintings, and Ecology Collide in this Examination of the Artist Martin Johnson Heade’s Series of Hummingbird Paintings, The Gems of Brazil (1863-64), and Their Unique Relationship to the Epic Landscapes of Hudson River School Artists Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, as well as Their Continued Significance to Contemporary Artists Working Today.

Co-Organized by the two Historic Sites in New York and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, the Exhibition Features Work by Contemporary Artists Including Nick Cave, Mark Dion, Jeffrey Gibson, Paula Hayes, Patrick Jacobs, Maya Lin, Dana Sherwood, Jean Shin, Rachel Sussman, and Vik Muniz.

Catskill and Hudson, NY – June 14, 2021 – The Olana Partnership, Olana State Historic Site, and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the opening of “Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment” at the two historic sites … Read the release.

Summer of Pollination to Unfold at Thomas Cole National Historic Site and Olana State Historic Site in the Hudson Valley

The Season-Long Celebration Offers Activities That Explore the Dynamic of Pollination and Expand on the Landmark Collaborative Exhibition “Cross Pollination” Opening June 12

Catskill and Hudson, NY – June 3, 2021 – The Olana Partnership, Olana State Historic Site, and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today than an entire “Summer of Pollination” will unfold at the two historic sites… Read the release.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Named Finalist for 2021 IMLS National Medal for Museum and Library Service

Catskill, N.Y. —March 18, 2021— The Institute of Museum and Library Services announced today that the Thomas Cole National Historic Site is a… Read the release.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces “Spring Lights,” A New Outdoor Nighttime Walk-Through Public Program in Catskill, New York, Inspired by the Artist Thomas Cole (1801- 1848) and His Love of Nature.

The New Experience Includes a Building-Wide Projection by Contemporary Artist Brian Kenny and Immersive Light & Sound Environments Designed by Clerestory Light, a leading “Son et Lumière” Creative Agency. The Experience Features Audio of Thomas Cole’s Writing, Brought to Life by the Film Actor Jamie Bell.

Thanks to Underwriter Support, the Ticketed Experience Includes Free Community Fridays Starting Friday, April 16.

Catskill, NY – Wednesday, March 17 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today a new outdoor nighttime walk-through public program called “Spring Lights”… Read the release.

Contemporary Art, Acclaimed 19th-Century Paintings, and Ecology Collide at the Opening of a Major Collaborative Exhibition “Cross Pollination” in June at both the Thomas Cole National Historic Site and Olana State Historic Site in New York’s Hudson River Skywalk Region

The National Project was Conceived in the Hudson Valley and Stems from the Artist Martin Johnson Heade’s 19th-Century Series of Hummingbird Paintings, The Gems of Brazil, and Their Unique Relationship to the Epic Landscapes of Hudson River School Artists Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, as well as Their Continued Significance to Contemporary Artists Working Today.

Co-Organized by the two Historic Sites in New York and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, the Exhibition will also Feature Work by Contemporary Artists Including Nick Cave, Mark Dion, Jeffrey Gibson, Paula Hayes, Patrick Jacobs, Maya Lin, Dana Sherwood, Jean Shin, Rachel Sussman, and Vik Muniz.

Catskill and Hudson, NY March 1, 2021 – The Olana Partnership, Olana State Historic Site, and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that “Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment” will open on June 12 at the two historic sites – the only opportunity to see the unique presentation of the exhibition in New York, in the landscapes and historic spaces that so dramatically influenced and continue to influence the evolution of art in America. For the first time… Read the release.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Awarded Two Prestigious Federal Grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowments for the Arts

The National Awards will Support the Site’s New Digital Education Initiative using American Art to Teach American History and its World-Class Special Exhibition in 2022 with a Guest Curator from the National Gallery of Art

Catskill, NY – February 22, 2021 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that it has been awarded two federal grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowments for the Arts (NEA). The highly competitive national awards support… Read the release.

The Thomas Cole Site’s Annual “Sunday Salons” Series Returns for its Eighteenth Year on Sunday, January 17, Reimagined to Stream Live Online

The Series of Talks Presents Leading Thinkers on Timely Topics Related to American Art and Landscape

Catskill, NY – January 11, 2021 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site’s annual “Sunday Salons” series returns for its eighteenth year this Sunday, January 17 at 2 pm. Read the release.

2020 Season

Four-State Initiative Launches Major Exhibition “Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment” – Exploring Cross Pollination in Art and Nature from 19th Century to Today

Thomas Cole National Historic Site in New York, The Olana Partnership at Olana State Historic Site in New York, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas Announce their Collaborative Exhibition and Multiple Events Coinciding with the Opening at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, FL, Followed by Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, NC

The Exhibition and Accompanying Book Feature Artist Martin Johnson Heade’s 19th-Century Series of Hummingbird and Habitat Paintings, The Gems of Brazil, Related Rarely Seen Paintings by Hudson River School Artists Thomas Cole and Frederic Church and Their Daughters Emily and Isabel, and Major Related Works by Leading Contemporary Artists

Hudson & Catskill, NY and Bentonville, AR October 22, 2020 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Olana, and Crystal Bridges Museum of Art announced today a four-state initiative to launch the major exhibition “Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment.” Read the release. 

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the Gift of a Thomas Cole Masterpiece from Susan Warner, Chairman of the Board of the Warner Foundation The Painting – One of Thomas Cole’s Earliest – Will be the Focus of an October 20 Virtual Lecture by the Director of the Birmingham Museum of Art

Catskill, NY – October 8, 2020 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the gift of a Thomas Cole masterpiece from Susan Warner, Chairman of the Board of the Warner Foundation, founded by the late, legendary art collector Jack Warner. The painting… Read the release. 

Announcing Premiere Virtual Screening of Short Film Interviewing Acclaimed Contemporary Artist Shi Guorui. The Event Will Include a Live Q & A with the Artist and Thomas Cole Site Curator Kate Menconeri.

The Virtual Screening Will Take Place on Tuesday, September 22, on the One Year Anniversary of the Opening of Shi Guorui’s Solo Exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site and his Performance Artwork “1.7 Mile Lights.”

 Shi Guorui is Internationally Celebrated for his Large-Scale Camera Obscura Photographs. He Created a New Body of Work for his 2019 Solo Exhibition at the Thomas Cole Site That Pays Homage to Thomas Cole (1801-1848), Founder of American Landscape Painting.

Catskill, NY – Sept 10, 2020 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today a premiere virtual screening event for a short film interviewing the acclaimed contemporary artist Shi Guorui. Read the release. 

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces New Public Electric Vehicle Charging Station, the First in Catskill, NY, To Complete Phase 1 of Site-Wide Greening Initiative 

The Greening Initiative Carries on the Proto-Environmentalist Legacy of the Artist Thomas Cole (1801-1848). The EV Charger was Supported by a Generous Individual Gift.

Catskill, NY – Aug 18, 2020 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today a new public electric vehicle charging station installed in the parking lot at the historic site in Catskill, New York. Read the release. 

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the Opening of “The Pollinator Pavilion” – A New Public Artwork by Internationally Renowned Contemporary Artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood 

“The Pollinator Pavilion” Provides a Fantastical Architectural Setting that Offers Miraculous Moments in which Individuals can Encounter Hummingbirds while Exploring a Nurturing Relationship with Nature  

Catskill, NY – August 11, 2020 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the opening of The Pollinator Pavilion, a new outdoor architectural sculpture designed specifically for the Thomas Cole National Historic Site by internationally acclaimed artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood. Click here for full press release. 

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces “The Pollinator Pavilion” – A New Public Artwork by Internationally Renowned Contemporary Artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood 

The Pollinator Pavilion Provides a Fantastical Architectural Setting That Offers Miraculous Moments in Which Individuals Can Encounter Hummingbirds While Exploring a Nurturing Relationship with Nature 

Catskill, NY – July 28, 2020 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that it will unveil on Friday, August 7, The Pollinator Pavilion, a new outdoor architectural sculpture designed specifically for the Thomas Cole National Historic Site by internationally acclaimed artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood. Combining their well-known practice of making site-specific installations and their fascination with nature, the interactive artwork is a fantastical architectural setting in which individuals can share miraculous moments with pollinators while exploring a nurturing relationship with nature. Click here for full press release.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Launches a New Way to Visit with Outdoor Explore Kits and Timed Pick-Ups

Outdoor Explore Kits are Free for Schoolchildren and their Families as Part of the Site’s Diversity, Equity and Access Initiative 

Catskill, NY – July 6, 2020 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is now offering a new and innovative way to visit the historic site located in the Village of Catskill. Visitors can pick up a packet of information and supplies to enjoy a self-guided hour-long visit to the historic grounds and building exteriors…Click here for full press release.

Major Collaborative Exhibition Organized by the Thomas Cole National Historic Site and The Olana Partnership at Olana State Historic Site in New York and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas Rescheduled to September 2020 through March 2022. It Will Show at a Total of Five National Venues.

The Exhibition Explores the Theme of “Cross Pollination” and Communities Working Together in Art and Nature from the 19th Century to the Contemporary Moment.

The National Project Stems from the Artist Martin Johnson Heade’s 19th-Century Series of Hummingbird and Habitat Paintings, The Gems of Brazil, and their Unique Relationship to the Epic Landscapes of Hudson River School Artists Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, as well as their Continued Significance to Contemporary Artists Working Today.

Hudson & Catskill, NY, and Bentonville, AR – May 28, 2020 – Olana, Thomas Cole National Historic Site and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art announced today the new dates for the major exhibition, “Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment”…Click here for full press release.

Thomas Cole’s Role as a Proto-Environmentalist is Featured in National Geographic’s Special Issue for the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day

Cole is Highlighted Both for His Painting and His Writing

Catskill, NY – April 9, 2020 – Thomas Cole’s role as an early environmental advocate – termed a proto-environmentalist because he preceded the modern environmental movement – is featured in National Geographic’s…Click here for full press release.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Publishes, for the First Time, Cole’s Lecture on Art — on the 175th Anniversary of its Writing

In the Lecture, Cole Makes the Case for Public Art Available to Every Citizen — With Drawing Taught in Every School

Catskill, NY – March 31, 2020 – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that it has published, for the first time…Click here for full press release.

Major Collaborative Exhibition to Open in May at Thomas Cole National Historic Site and the Olana State Historic Site, Exploring the Theme of “Cross Pollination” in Art and the Environment from the 19th Century to the Contemporary Moment.

The National Project Stems from the Artist Martin Johnson Heade’s 19th-Century Series of Hummingbird and Habitat Paintings, The Gems of Brazil, and their Unique Relationship to the Epic Landscapes of Hudson River School Artists Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, as well as their Continued Significance to Contemporary Artists Working Today.

Co-Organized by the Two Historic Sites in New York and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, the Major Exhibition Will Also Feature Work by Contemporary Artists Including Nick Cave, Mark Dion, Jeffrey Gibson, Paula Hayes, Patrick Jacobs, Maya Lin, Dana Sherwood, Rachel Sussman,
and Vik Muniz.

Catskill and Hudson, NY–February 27, 2020 — Olana and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that they will co-host a major exhibition … Click here for full press release.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Receives $180,000 Grant from Henry Luce Foundation to Complete Phase III of Restoration of the Artist’s Home

Phase III Will Unveil a Major New Discovery: Decorative Wall Painting in a First-Floor Room That Research Suggests Was Cole’s Home Art Gallery

Catskill, NY–February 3, 2020 — The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that the Henry Luce Foundation has awarded it a grant of $180,000 to complete… Click here for full press release.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces 2020 “Sunday Salons” Lecture Series

The Series Presents Leading National Scholars Discussing Major Topics on American Art and Landscape

Catskill, NY–January 9, 2020 — The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the schedule for its 2020 “Sunday Salons” lecture series. The series presents… Click here for full press release.

2019 Season

Leading Thomas Cole Scholar Alan Wallach, Ph.D., will Deliver the 14th Annual Raymond Beecher Lecture Hosted by the Thomas Cole National Historic Site.

Dr. Wallach Will Explore Cole’s Course of Empire Series and How it Embodies the Concern for the Future of the United States

Catskill, NY–November 5, 2019 — The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that its 14th Annual Raymond Beecher Lecture will be delivered… Click here for full press release.

Acclaimed Artist Shi Guorui Will Present an Artist Talk in His Studio in Catskill,
NY, on Sunday, October 27

Catskill, NY–September 30, 2019 — Acclaimed artist Shi Guorui will present an Artist Talk organized by the Thomas Cole National Historic Site at his studio in Catskill, NY, on
Sunday, October 27. The talk accompanies … Click here for full press release.

“SHI GUORUI: Ab/Sense-Pre/Sense” Opens at Thomas Cole National Historic SiteExhibition Unveils Large-Scale Landscape Photographs by Acclaimed

Contemporary Artist Shi Guorui, Created by Converting 20-Foot Box Truck into Camera Obscura

Photographs Pay Homage to Thomas Cole (1801-1848), Founder of American Landscape Painting

Catskill, NY–September 23, 2019 — The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today a new series of Outdoor Art Workshops at the historic site offered to the community for free … Click here for full press release.

Thomas Cole Historic Site Announces New Outdoor Art Workshops for Children and Visitors of all Ages. The Creative Workshops are Free at the Historic Site in Catskill, NY.

Catskill, NY–August 6, 2019– A solo exhibition of new work by acclaimed contemporary artist Shi Guorui opened yesterday at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. The show will be on view through …Click here for full press release.

Acclaimed Contemporary Artist Shi Guorui Converts 20-Foot Box Truck into Camera Obscura, Creating 15-foot Landscape Photographs in Homage to Thomas Cole (1801-1848), Founder of American Landscape Painting

Solo Exhibition “SHI GUORUI: Ab/Sense-Pre-Sense” to be Presented from September 22, 2019 to December 1, 2019, at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Catskill, NY–July 17, 2019– The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that a solo exhibition of new work by acclaimed contemporary artist Shi Guorui will be presented … Click here for full press release.

New Study Reveals that the Annual Economic Impact of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site Totals $2.28 Million – an Increase of 73% in Eight Years.

Catskill, NY–June 18, 2019– The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the results of a study that shows that its economic impact on the local economy is $2,280,912 annually. That total… Click here for full press release.

New Decorative Painting by Thomas Cole Uncovered on the Walls of his 1815 Home in Catskill, New York.

Discovery Reveals Significant Further Impact of Cole’s Journey to England and Italy (1829-1832), which was the focus of the 2018 Exhibition Thomas Cole’s Journey at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and The National Gallery in London.

Catskill, NY–June 10, 2019– The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the discovery of new decorative painting, long hidden by subsequent layers of modern paint, on the walls of a first-floor room in the artist’s home. The discovery offers new insight… Click here for full press release.

The Ribbon Cutting of the Hudson River Skywalk, a New Scenic Walkway where American Landscape Painting Began, Will Take Place on Saturday, June 1 at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge Riverfront Park in Catskill, NY.

The Opening Day Festivities will Kick Off with a Parade of Paintings from the Thomas Cole Site and Frederic Church’s Olana Coming Together at the Bridge over the Hudson River.

Catskill, NY–May 29, 2019– The Olana State Historic Site and Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the ribbon cutting of the Hudson River Skywalk, a new scenic walkway at the place where American landscape painting began. Join in the community in celebrating… Click here for full press release.

Thomas Cole’s Refrain: The Paintings of Catskill Creek – a New Exhibition Now Open at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site – Explores, for the First Time as a Series, Cole’s Extraordinary Paintings of the Captivating Catskill Creek Landscape, Created Over 18 Years.

Cole painted Catskill Creek more than any other landscape, elevating a local scene to an iconic American image. The exhibition reveals the importance of this specific place to Cole’s pioneering commitment to the environment.

Catskill, NY–May 7, 2019– Thomas Cole’s Refrain: The Paintings of Catskill Creek – a new exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site –  explores, for the first time as a series, Cole’s extraordinary Catskill Creek landscapes, which he created again and again during 1827 to 1845 – virtually the whole course of his mature career… Click here for full press release.

Thomas Cole Historic Site Announces a Spring Series of Outdoor Art Workshops for Children and Visitors of All Ages at the Historic Site. The Workshops are Free and Designed to Inspire Creativity.

Catskill, NY–April 15, 2019– The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today a series of Outdoor Art Workshops at the historic site offered to the community for free. Children and their families and visitors of all ages are invited to join… Click here for full press release.

In Celebration of Women’s History Month, the Thomas Cole NHS Presents The Art of Emily Cole, the First Exhibition of Her Work in Over a Century

Daughter of Iconic Landscape Painter Thomas Cole, Emily was the Only One if His Children to Become an Artist

Catskill, NY–February 19, 2019– The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that the exhibition The Art of Emily Cole will open on March 2 in celebration of Women’s History Month. The project marks the first solo exhibition of Emily’s artwork on both paper and porcelain, revealing her exquisitely painted botanicals… Click here for full press release.

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the Exhibition Thomas Cole’s Refrain: The Paintings of Catskill Creek Featuring Masterworks by Cole from Major Museums as well as Rarely Seen Paintings from Private Collections

The Exhibition will Reveal the Deeper Meaning of Cole’s Catskill Creek Paintings, Considered for the First Time as an Integral Series

Catskill, NY–January 29, 2019– The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that the exhibition Thomas Cole’s Refrain: The Paintings of Catskill Creek will open on May 4 in collaboration with Cornell University Press and the Hudson River Museum, with related programming in partnership with Scenic Hudson and Greene Land Trust… Click here for full press release.

Thomas Cole Site Announces the 2019 Sunday Salons Bringing Today’s Leaders in American Art to Thomas Cole’s New Studio in Catskill, New York

Catskill, NY–January 3, 2019– The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the 16th annual Sunday Salons lecture series, bringing leaders in American art to Thomas Cole’s New Studio in Catskill, New York, once a month from January through April…Click here for full press release.

2018 Season

December 11, 2018

Thomas Cole Site is Now Acceptiong 2019-2020 Cole Fellowship Applications. The Fellowship is an Annual Program Developing the Next Generation of Leaders in American Art

Catskill, NY–December 11, 2018– The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that it is now accepting applications for the annual Cole Fellowship, a one-year, residential fellowship at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York…Click here for full press release.

October 1, 2018

Ned Sullivan, President of Scenic Hudson, To Deliver The Thomas Cole Site’s 13th Annual Raymond Beecher Lecture On October 14 In The Hudson River Skywalk Region

Catskill, NY–October 1, 2018– The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that its 13th Annual Raymond Beecher Lecture will be delivered by Ned Sullivan, President of Scenic Hudson. Titled “Still in Eden: Connecting People to Landscapes that Inspired Thomas Cole,” the lecture will take place on Sunday, October 14, at 2:00 pm at Joe’s Garage, the event space at 443 Main Street in Catskill, NY, in the Hudson River Skywalk Region…Click here for full press release.

September 19, 2018

The Second Annual Hudson River Skywalk Arts Festival Will Take Place on September 30 at Three Locations: The Rip Van Winkle Bridge, Thomas Cole National Historic Site, and Olana State Historic Site

The Hudson River Sywalk Arts Festival is Presented by Historic Bridges of the Hudson Valley, in Conjunction with the New York State Bridge Authority and the Two Historic Sites, and Celebrate the Art of the Hudson Valley and the Hudson River Skywalk Initiative, Which Will Physically Link the Thomas Cole Site and Frederic Church’s Olana across the Hudson River

The Festival Includes free special events at all three locations in the Hudson River Skywalk Region.

Catskill, NY: Historic Bridges of the Hudson Valley, the New York State Bridge Authority, Olana State Historic Site, and Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the second annual Hudson River Skywalk Arts Festival spanning Columbia and Greene Counties… Click here for full press release.

September 17, 2018

Albany International Airport and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site Present a New Multidisciplinary Exhibition: Landmark

Catskill, NY–September 17, 2018– Landmark, at the Albany International Airport Gallery features 10 contemporary visual artists and seven writers whose works explore our relationship to the natural world, and share common ground with Thomas Cole’s greatest written works, Essay on American Scenery… Click here for full press release. 

August 29, 2018

Thomas Cole Site Hosts September 11 Book Launch For Picturing America: Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Art by Renowned Children’s Book Author and Illustrator Hudson Talbott

The Picture Book Introduces Children to Thomas Cole, Founder of America’s First Major Art Movement, and Celebrates a Love of Painting and the Natural Landscape

Catskill, NY–August 29, 2018–The Thomas Cole National Historic Site will host the book launch for Picturing America: Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Art by renowned children’s book author and illustrator Hudson Talbott. Click here for full press release. 

August 15, 2018

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Unveils Digital Education Package Coinciding With the Launch of New Classroom Lesson Plans

The Package is Designed to Make Accessible 19th-Century American History and Illuminate its Contemporary Implications Through the Perspective of a Transformative Artist

The Free Educational Resource is Available Digitally to Teachers, Parents, and People of All Ages Throughout the Nation at www.thomascole.org

Catskill, NY–August 15, 2018–The Thomas Cole National Historic Site unveiled today a new education package on its website, whose launch coincides with the Thomas Cole Site’s release of innovative classroom lesson plans designated to engage students in exploring key concepts in the first half of 19th-century American history. Click here for full press release.

August 14, 2018

Thomas Cole Site Presents Spectrum, a Site-Specific Contemporary Art Exhibition That Explores Relationships Between Thomas Cole’s Use of Color and that of 11 Contemporary Artists

Artworks are Sited Throughout the Historic Home and Studios Where Cole Founded America’s First Major Art Movement, the Hudson River School

The Exhibition Engages Contemporary Artists in a Visual Dialogue with Thomas Cole and Explores How Artists Use Light and Color in their Practice At The Intersection of Art and Science.

Exhibiting Artists Will Gather for a Reception at the Thomas Cole Site on August 25 from 4 to 6 PM

Spectrum is an exhibition of contemporary artworks installed throughout the historic home, studios, and grounds at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site and is part of the ongoing series OPEN HOUSE: Contemporary Art in Conversation with Cole. Click here for full press release.

July 24, 2018

The Hudson River School Art Trail Opens its 18th Site in the Hudson River Valley

The Latest Site is at the Catskill Center’s Platte Clove Preserve in the Town of Hunter in Greene County.

Catskill, NY–July 24, 2018The Hudson River School Art Trail has opened its 18th site in the Hudson River Valley. The site is located at the Catskill Center’s Platte Clove Preserve, 208 acres of pristine wilderness–open to the public for quiet enjoyment–with beautiful waterfalls and trails at the head of the rugged and scenic Platte Clove in the Town of Hunter in Greene County. Click here for full press release.

July 9, 2018

Acclaimed Performance Artist Tim Youd Begins his Second Week at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Retyping the 60th in his Nationwide 100 Novels Project

The 60th is James Salter’s Light Year’s-Set on the Banks of the Hudson River–And Part of Youd’s Hudson Valley Cycle, Which Will be the Basis for an Exhibition at Vassar College Next Month  

Catskill, NY–July 9, 2018–Acclaimed performance artist Tim Youd begins his second of two weeks at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site tomorrow. He is in the process of retyping 100 novels, from beginning to end, over a 10-year period, and he is now working on the 60th novel at the Cole Site, where he retyped from July 3-8 and will retype from July 10-13. Click here for full press release.

June 12, 2018

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site and Catskill Mountain Wild Launch a Series of Professionally Guided Hikes: the Hudson River School Art Trail Hikes 2018

The First Hike Will Take Place on Saturday, June 23

Catskill, NY–June 12, 2018–The The Thomas Cole National Historic Site and Catskill Mountain Wild announced the launch of a series of professionally guided hikes: the Hudson River School Art Trail Hikes 2018. Click here for full press release.

May 21, 2018

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Will Offer Free Admission to its New Studio and New Exhibition from 4:00 to 7:00 pm on Saturday, May 26, as Part of a village-wide celebration on Memorial Day Weekend

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that it will participate in “What’s Up in Catskill”–the all-day celebration of shops, food, entertainment and cultural offerings taking place in Catskill on Saturday, May 26. The Thomas Cole Site, which will be open throughout the day for ticketed guided tours, will then offer free admission from 4:00 to 7:00 pm to its New Studio, the reconstructed building of Cole’s own design that houses the Site’s latest exhibition.Click here for full press release.

May 1, 2018

“Picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole’s Trans-Atlantic Inheritance” Opens at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Complementing the Thomas Cole Exhibition on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Created in Collaboration with the Yale Center for British Art and Members of the Yale History of Art Department, the Exhibition Shares a Co-Curator with the Exhibition at the Met: Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor and Chair of the History of Art Department at Yale.

Click here for full press release.

 March 20, 2018

Governor Cuomo Announces Milestones for Hudson River Skywalk

Scenic Viewpoints Providing Unobstructed Views of Hudson River and Catskill Mountains are now complete. Announces the creation of the Hudson River Skywalk Region’ to help draw visitors to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site and Olana State Historic Site. Click here for full press release.

March 15, 2018

Call For New Writing

How is the American landscape changing? Is there something you see, do, or experience now that you hope will be around for future generations? In honor of Thomas Cole’s Essay on American Scenery, The Thomas Cole National Historic site is calling for new writing on the topic of the changing landscape. Click here for full press release.

March 6, 2018

The 2018 Cole Fellow Presentations

Catskill, NY–The Thomas Cole national Historic Site announced today that on Friday, April 6 at 5pm the 2017-18 Cole Fellows will present new reasearch about Thomas Cole and the historic site where he lived and worked. Click here for full press release.

February 8, 2018

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the Exhibition “Picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole’s Trans-Atlantic Inheritance” – Created in Collaboration with the Yale Center for British Art and Members of the Yale History of Art Department

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that the exhibition “Picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole’s Trans-Atlantic Inheritance” will open on May 1 and run through November 4, 2018. Click here for full press release. 

2017 Season

December 11, 2017

Bicentennial Celebrations at the Thomas Cole Site will kick off with a lecture series presented in partnership with The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University.

We are thrilled to announce the 200th year anniversary of Thomas Cole’s arrival in America.Thomas Cole (1801-8148) emigrated from Northern England in 1818 with his family at the age of 17. Cole went on to found America’s first major art movement, the Hudson River School of landscape painting, which profoundly shaped this nation’s identity and addressed the prescient issues of preservation vs. development head on. Click here for full press release. 

September 27, 2017

Thomas Cole Site awarded $200,000 From the Institute of Museum and Library Services

We are pleased to announce that the Thomas Cole National Historic Site has been awarded a 2017 Museums for America grant award of $200,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in the Learning Experiences category to support an interactive multimedia installation on the second floor of Thomas Cole’s historic home. Click here for full press release. 

September 21, 2017

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Will Remain Open Longer this Fall, Extending a Season of Impressive Attendance Growth.

The growing interest in the Hudson River School is also evidenced by the opening of a major Thomas Cole exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in January 2018 traveling to the National Gallery in London. Click here for full press release. 

August 23, 2017

The First Ever Skywalk Arts Festival at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge will be Presented in Collaboration with the Thomas Cole National Historic Site and the Olana State Historic Site on Sunday, September 24 from 1 to 4 pm.

Skywalk arts festival is presented by Historic Bridges of the Hudson Valley in conjunction with the NYS Bridge Authority and celebrates the art of the Hudson Valley and the in-progress Skywalk pedestrian crossing at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge on the Hudson River. Click here for full press release.

August 16, 2017

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Opens a Unique Site-Specific Exhibition by Internationally Acclaimed Contemporary Artist Kiki Smith

KIKI SMITH / From the Creek is now open at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. The opening reception was held on Saturday, August 12 and was attended by over 400 guests. Click here for full press release.

July 27, 2017

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces an OPEN CALL for ARTWORK for the 6th Annual Postcards OPEN CALL Exhibition: Picturing the Sublime

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site invites artists of all ages to submit new and original 5” x 7” works of art to the sixth annual postcards open call exhibition entitled Picturing the Sublime at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. Click here for full press release.

July 20, 2017

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces a Unique Site-Specific Exhibition by Internationally Acclaimed Contemporary Artist Kiki Smith

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Kiki Smith is creating a new multidisciplinary exhibition throughout the historic site where the groundbreaking American artist Thomas Cole lived and worked almost two centuries ago. Click here for full press release.

May 2, 2017

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Opens 2017 Season with Two Landmark Exhibits

The Parlors – The Thomas Cole National Historic Site today opened its 2017 season with two new landmark exhibitions: “The Parlors” and “Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills.” Click here for full press release.

April 20, 2017

Acclaimed Actor Jamie Bell is Performing the Voice of Thomas Cole in a New Immersive Installation at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today that acclaimed actor Jamie Bell is performing the voice of Thomas Cole in the new immersive installation that will enable visitors to experience the historic events that took place in the parlors of Cole’s 1815 house Click here for full press release.

February 21, 2017

The Economic Impact of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site Totals Nearly $1.9 Million

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the results of a study that shows that its economic impact on the local economy is $1,898,000 annually. That total – generated by 2015 data, the latest available – represents an increase of 44% since 2010 and reflects growth in visitors during that period of 54% to nearly 16,000 annually. Click here for full press release.

February 1, 2017

Thomas Cole Site announces 2017 Exhibition

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today its upcoming exhibition Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills, which will open to the public on Tuesday, May 2, in the gallery of Cole’s 1846 “New Studio” and run through Sunday, October 29. Click here for full press release.

January 25, 2017

Thomas Cole Site announces Re-Opening with a New Immersive Installation

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today the re-opening in May 2017 of the artist’s home with a new immersive installation that combines technology and meticulous historic restoration, featuring the earliest-known, interior decorative painting by an American artist. Click here for full press release.

2016 Season

December 15, 2016

Cole Site Awarded $30,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts

We are pleased to announce that the Thomas Cole National Historic Site has been awarded an Art Works Grant of $30,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the 2017 exhibition Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills and accompanying catalogue. Click here for full press release.

December 13, 2016

Cole Site Awarded Grants Totaling $582,650

We are pleased to announce that the Thomas Cole National Historic Site was awarded two New York State grants through the Regional Economic Development Council totaling $582,650, furthering the transformation of the site into a national tourism destination and economic driver for the region. Click here for full press release.

October 28, 2016

Cole Fellow Presentations

On Friday October 28 at 5pm the 2016 Cole Fellows will present their latest research about Thomas Cole and the site where he made his home and work. This event will be held in the Visitor Center at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site at 218 Spring Street, Catskill, NY. A reception will follow. Admission is free. Click here for full press release.

October 11, 2016

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces Launch of New Audio Tour Created with Area Teens

At the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, visitors now have the chance to tour Thomas Cole’s home and studios on their own with a narrated audio guide. The audio guide is free for all ticket-holders attending the special “explore at your own pace” hours, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 2-5 pm, and was created as part of the site’s educational outreach with area teens, who worked with the staff to develop the tour. The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is honored to be able to offer this guide and program, made possible with support from AT&T. Click here for full press release.

September 16, 2016

Special Event to Honor Peter Hutton Sunday, October 9, 2 pm

Annual Fall Event to Feature Lecture by Scott MacDonald and Screenings of Hutton’s Films

Join the Thomas Cole National Historic Site as we celebrate the work of Hudson River landscape filmmaker Peter Hutton at the Arts Center Theater of Columbia-Greene Community College on Sunday, October 9 at 2 pm. During his 46 years as an independent filmmaker, Hutton, who passed away on June 25, produced a remarkable body of work that demonstrates that the legacy of Thomas Cole and Hudson River School painting is very much alive, not only in modern painting, but in cinema, as well. Click here for full press release.

August 3, 2016

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announces the opening of JASON MIDDLEBROOK: Nature Builds / We Cover, the inaugural exhibition in its new series, OPEN HOUSE: Contemporary Art in Conversation with Cole. 

Jason Middlebrook: Nature Builds / We Cover, will be on view at the Thomas Cole site August 14 – October 30. A members’ reception with the artist will be held on August 13, 3-5 pm. For this installation, Middlebrook is creating a site-specific exhibition inside the home of artist, Thomas Cole, in collaboration with the Thomas Cole site’s curator Kate Menconeri. This solo project, installed in conversation with works by Cole already within the house, will feature a selection of Middlebrook’s signature hardwood plank paintings and debut new works on paper, made for the occasion, that draw on Cole’s sketches of trees. Middlebrook lives and works in the Hudson Valley and has had solo shows at MASS MoCA and the New Museum, among other national and international venues. Click here for full press release.

January 21, 2016

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Announces the Inaugural Art Exhibition in its “New Studio” Building: Thomas Cole: The Artist as Architect. 

Curated by noted scholar Annette Blaugrund, the exhibition focuses on Cole’s little-known architectural endeavors and is planned to include paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Columbus Museum of Art, and Toledo Museum of Art, among others. The New Studio, designed by Cole in the 1840s, has been reconstructed and now offers state-of-the-art, museum-quality, exhibition space for the first time. Click here for full press release.


2015 Season

September 11, 2015

OVER $600,000 AWARDED FOR INTERIOR RESTORATION AND EXHIBITS

Periwinkle blue walls in the foyer, lavender walls in the West Parlor, a red and gold carpet with pyramids and birds-of-paradise, and hand-painted borders by Thomas Cole himself on the walls … . These are some of the elements of the original décor of the first-floor rooms of Cole’s 1815 home that will be restored as a result of two major federal grants that were recently awarded to the Thomas Cole Historic Site: $460,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities and $150,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. As an integral part of the project, the rooms will be infused with interactive exhibits that enable visitors to enter and engage with the story of Thomas Cole. Click here for the full press release.

See The Painting Beneath the Historic Paint here. 

July 1, 2015

SENATOR CHARLES SCHUMER VISITS THOMAS COLE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE TO UNVEIL NEWLY DISCOVERED DECORATIVE PAINTING BY COLE

Senator Charles Schumer today visited the Thomas Cole National Historic Site to unveil newly discovered decorative painting by Thomas Cole, the seminal 19th-century artist who is considered the founder of the Hudson River School of landscape painting, the nation’s first major art movement. The decorative painting adorning the walls of the East and West Parlors was discovered during a paint analysis of the walls of the 1815 Main House that was Thomas Cole’s home. Click here for the full Press Release

February 11, 2015

River Crossings: Contemporary Art Comes Home opens May 3, 2015

 “RIVER CROSSINGS” EXHIBITION WILL BRING CONTEMPORARY ART BY WORLD-RENOWNED ARTISTS BACK TO THE HOMES WHERE DISTINCTLY AMERICAN ART WAS BORN, CREATING AN UNPRECEDENTED EXPERIENCE

We are excited to announce our 2015 exhibition, River Crossings: Contemporary Art Comes Home, presented in partnership with Olana, featuring contemporary art installed directly into the historic spaces and landscapes of the two historic sites. The exhibition is curated by the artist Stephen Hannock and Jason Rosenfeld, PhD. Artists in the exhibition include Romare Bearden, Elijah Burgher, Chuck Close, Will Cotton, Gregory Crewdson, Lynn Davis, Jerry Gretzinger, Don Gummer, Duncan Hannah, Stephen Hannock, Valerie Hegarty, Angie Keefer with Kara Hamilton and Kianja Strobert, Charles LeDray, Maya Lin, Frank Moore, Elizabeth Murray, Rashaad Newsome, Thomas Nozkowski, Stephen Petegorsky, Martin Puryear, Cindy Sherman, Sienna Shields, Kiki Smith, Joel Sternfeld, Letha Wilson, and Elyn Zimmerman, in addition to selected complementary work by Thomas Cole and Frederic Church from the permanent collections. Click here for the full press release.


2014 Season

July 2, 2014

Summer Exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site

STANLEY MALTZMAN | Thomas Cole’s Honey 

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is pleased to announce a summer exhibition and birthday celebration for a very special tree that turns 200 years old this year. The exhibition entitled Thomas Cole’s Honey with new artworks by the beloved artist Stanley Maltzman will open July 26 with a reception that is free and open to the public from 4:30 to 6 pm. The exhibition will run through October 2, 2014.Click here for details.

June 10 2014

Open Call to Artists / Postcards from the Trail 

Artists are invited to make a painting or drawing of one of the 22 sites along the Hudson River School Art Trail for inclusion in the third annual “Postcards from the Trail” exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site on Sunday September 28, 2014View the full press release here.

January 2014

Exhibition Announcement: Frederic Church Returns to Cedar Grove

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is pleased to announce our 2014 exhibition: Master, Mentor, Master – Thomas Cole & Frederic Church. This never before presented exhibition tells the story of one of the most important teacher-student relationships in the history of American art – that between the founder of the Hudson River School of painting, Thomas Cole (1801-1848) and his student – successor, Frederic Church (1826-1900). … View the Full Announcement.


2013 Season

June 15, 2013

Open Call to Artists

Artists are invited to participate in the second annual exhibition and sale entitled “Postcards from the Trail 2013” that will take place at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site on September 8. … View the full announcement.

January 10, 2013

Albert Bierstadt to Visit Thomas Cole in 2013

On Sunday, April 28th the Thomas Cole National Historic Site celebrates the opening of the 2013 exhibition Albert Bierstadt in New York & New England … View the full announcement.


2012 Season

May 16, 2012

Renowned Hudson River School Art Trail More Than Doubles in Size

Extraordinary Art Trail, combining nature and culture, grows to 17 Sites in New York, two in New Hampshire, two in Wyoming, and one in Massachusetts… View the full announcement.

May 21, 2012

Multiple Public Events Will Celebrate the Opening of the Expanded Hudson River School Art Trail
The Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced today a series of five public events that will take place on Saturday, June 2nd, to celebrate the opening of the expansion of the renowned Hudson River School Art Trail… View the full announcement.

April 2012

New Exhibition on Louis Rémy Mignot
Curated by Katherine E. Manthorne, this is the first major solo show of Louis Rémy Mignot (1831-1870) in over two decades. The exhibition will offer an intimate look at the work of this young, Charleston-born artist who painted in the style of the Hudson River School – and whose tragic life story is as captivating as his landscape paintings… View the full announcement.


2011 Season

May 2011

Now Recruiting Guides for the Hudson River School Art Trail
We are now recruiting people who love hiking, walking, and the great outdoors to conduct guided hikes during the season May through October along the beautiful Hudson River School Art Trail in the Catskill Mountains. View the full announcement.

February 2011

Position Opening, Now Hiring Part-Time Curator
We are now accepting applications for the position of part-time curator to assist with three main areas: the collection, the exhibitions gallery, and the “Cole Fellows” program. The gallery work is primarily during the winter months, the Fellows work occurs in the warmer months, and collections management is year-round. View the full announcement.

January 2011

New Exhibition on Robert S. Duncanson, the First Major African-American Landscape Painter
On May 1, a new exhibition opens at the Thomas Cole Historic Site featuring the work of a 19th-century landscape painter influenced by Thomas Cole who was also the first African-American artist to gain international renown. View the press release.


2010 Season

August 2010

Position Opening, Now Hiring Executive Assistant
We are now accepting applications for the position of Executive Assistant at the Thomas Cole Historic Site. View the full announcement.

April 2010

“True American Luminist” to Speak at Thomas Cole Historic Site
April 11 at 2pm, internationally known artist Stephen Hannock will speak at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. The title of his talk is “Thomas Cole with a Power Sander.” After his talk, Mr. Hannock will sign copies of a large new book about his artwork. View the Press Release.

January 2010

New Exhibition: “Remember the Ladies: Women Artists of the Hudson River School”
The Thomas Cole Historic Site is pleased to present a new exhibition, “Remember the Ladies: Women Artists of the Hudson River School,” the first known exhibition in the United States to focus solely on the women artists associated with the 19th century landscape painting movement. View the Press Release.


2009 Season

March 2009

New Exhibition of Hudson River Views at Thomas Cole Historic Site
Celebrating Quadricentennial with Paintings of the Hudson River School. The Thomas Cole Historic Site is delighted to present a new exhibition entitled River Views of the Hudson River School exploring the subject of the Hudson River in the landscape paintings of major figures of the 19th century including Thomas Cole, Sanford Gifford, and Jasper Cropsey. The exhibition launches on May 2, 2009, and is the sixth annual presentation of Hudson River School masterpieces at the Thomas Cole Site. View the Press Release.


2008 Season

September 2008

Major Speaker Event features Timothy Barringer
The Third Annual Raymond Beecher Lecture is on Saturday, October 25th at 4pm, featuring Dr. Timothy Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor at the Yale University Department of the History of Art. View the Press Release.

August 2008

Symposium Celebrates Interns at Thomas Cole House
The Thomas Cole Site celebrates the contribution of its interns – both past and present – with an afternoon of presentations by students from Bard College, Mount Holyoke College, SUNY New Paltz, Vassar College, and Williams College, exploring their ideas on topics relating to Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School. View the Press Release.

April 2008

New Exhibition: Thomas Cole’s “Sketch” Paintings
The Thomas Cole Site launches the 2008 season with an exhibition of rarely seen “oil sketches” by Thomas Cole featuring studies for several well known Cole paintings including the study for his iconic painting of Kaaterskill Falls. View the Press Release.

February 2008

Thomas Cole National Historic Site Hosts Open House for Prospective Docents
Do you love history and art? Do you like interacting with people? Interested in the life and works of the 19th-century artist Thomas Cole, the founder of the Hudson River School of art? Want to play a role in preserving and telling the story of his home at Cedar Grove? View the Press Release.


2007 Season

September 2007

Thomas Cole Historic Site Awarded $320,900 From the National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities has announced a grant award of $320,900 for the Thomas Cole National Historic Site through the “Interpreting America’s Historic Places” program, which supports public humanities projects that exploit the evocative power of historic places to address themes and issues central to American history and culture. View the Press Release.

April 2007

Asher B. Durand: Intimate Observations
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is pleased to announce the 2007 exhibition at Cedar Grove, Asher B. Durand: Intimate Observations, which continues a series of exhibitions exploring significant figures in 19th-century American landscape painting. View the Press Release.

February 2007

Lost Painting Found!
A Tale of Conservation

On Sunday, March 11, at 2 p.m., the “Sunday Salon” at Cedar Grove, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, will feature Elise Effmann, former assistant conservator of paintings at the Kimbell Art Museum and now a paintings conservator at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. View the Press Release.


2006 Season

July 2006

Beautiful Party, Record Fundraising, at the 2006 “Pic-Nic” 
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site held their third annual summer party at Cedar Grove on Saturday July 29th, raising a record amount of funds for their operations. View the Press Release.

May 2006

New Website a guide to historic views
A new way to tour the historic Hudson Valley is now online, weaving art history and enjoyment of the outdoors into a single experience. View the Press Release.

February 2006

Thomas Cole Historic Site Presents a New Exhibition.
Jasper Cropsey: Interpreting Nature in America

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is pleased to announce the 2006 exhibition at Cedar Grove, continuing a series of exhibitions focusing on significant figures in the rise of 19th-century American landscape painting. View the Press Release.


2005 Season

September 2005

Cedar Grove announces the Fall Schedule of Sunday Salons
This fall, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site presents an internationally renowned scholar, a tasting of authentic Hudson Valley farm products, and a Broadway acting star in its lineup of programming. View the Press Release.

March 2005

Official Launch of the Hudson River School Art Trail
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site and the Mountain Top Historical Society team up for a weekend of special events, June 4-5, 2005. View the Press Release.

January 2005

George Inness: Paintings
A New Exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. Opening May 1, 2005. View the Press Release.


2004 Season

September 2004

Minetta Brook and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site present VIEW, an exhibition by Matts Leiderstam
Minetta Brook and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site present a special exhibition by Matts Leiderstam titled View in Thomas Cole’s “Old Studio” at Cedar Grove in Catskill, New York. The opening reception will take place on Sunday, October 3, 2004 from 11am to 3pm as part of the ribbon-cutting celebration and public opening for the “Old Studio,” which was constructed in 1839, and has recently undergone a major restoration. View the Press Release.

Announcing the public opening, ribbon-cutting, and celebration of Thomas Cole’s Storehouse Studio
The public is invited to join the celebration, tour the studio, and enjoy music, refreshments, and a variety of special exhibitions and presentations from 11 a.m. to 3 pm. Congressman John Sweeney will be the honorary chair of the event, in recognition of his role in preserving this important National Historic Landmark. Admission is free. Thomas Cole’s Storehouse Studio, often called the “Old Studio,” was constructed in 1839 when he was commissioned to create his famous “Voyage of Life” series.

The restoration of the Old Studio is made possible by a grant from “Save America’s Treasures”, the Catskill-Olana Scenic Mitigation Fund, and Benjamin Moore & Co.

June 8, 2004

Cedar Grove offers hikes back in time

It is the views of the Catskill Mountains and their surrounding wilderness that inspired the first exclusively American art movement, known as the Hudson River School . Although the artists of this style worked in the early 19th century, many of the glorious vistas they depicted are still as pristine and untouched today as they were then. The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is hosting a series of hikes that will allow participants to follow the footsteps of these painters and experience the sights, sounds, and sensations that influenced them.

May 2, 2004

Cedar Grove’s fourth season accented by collaborative projects
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site opens its doors to the public Saturday, May 1, for its fourth season of public tours. Along with new exhibitions and exciting programs, visitors will benefit from a new spirit of collaboration at the Catskill home of the founder of the Hudson River School of art. View the Press Release.

March 29, 2004

Paintings by Ralph Albert Blakelock coming to Thomas Cole National Historic Site
American painter Ralph A. Blakelock (1847-1919), one of the most celebrated artists of the late 19th century, will be the focus of the season-opening exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. View the Press Release.

December, 2003

Former Marketing Director of Whitney Museum Hired at Cedar Grove

The Board of Governors of Cedar Grove has announced that Elizabeth B. Jacks, the former marketing director for the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City , has been hired to be the new Director of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill , NY. View the Press Release.

rootPress Releases

News – Selected Highlights

 

2024

Landscape View: A New Documentary Digs Into the Past at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Malea Martin, Winter 2024

Early 19th century artist Thomas Cole is widely considered America’s first great landscape painter, known for his intricate oil depictions of sweeping natural views in the Catskills, where he lived and worked. But Cole wasn’t a “one-man band,” says Betsy Jacks, executive director of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. “Thomas Cole didn’t do everything—he didn’t grind his pigments and make the tea and take care of the children and plant the garden. It took a whole household to make that happen.”…Read the full article here.

2023

Ten shows to see at New England museums this fall

Murray Whyte, October 20, 2023

WOMEN REFRAME THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE On view through the end of the month at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, N.Y., this exhibition moves to the New Britain Museum of American Art for the winter… Read the full article here.

Newly Reviewed – Upstate – ‘Women Reframe American Landscape’

Travis Diehl, August 30, 2023

An exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site shows the extent to which the idea of landscape has been rethought….. Read the full article here. 

Illuminating Sarah Cole

2023 Cole Fellow Kristen Marchetti, August 12, 2023

Sarah Cole (1805–1857) was an accomplished American artist known for her paintings, etchings, and drawings. Like her brother Thomas Cole, an influential figure in the Hudson River School, she worked in the earliest years of the Hudson River School movement. She exhibited and sold her work nationally while living periodically at Cedar Grove, the property we know today as the Thomas Cole National Historic Site…. Read the full article here.

Women Reframe American Landscape Susie Barstow & Her Circle / Contemporary Practices

Jessica Skwire Routhier, August 11, 2023

The visual appeal of the works draws you in and creates a space where you can begin to question why you have never seen some of them before, or why you respond as you do to seeing them in this place…. Read the full article here. 

A Guide to Art Exhibitions in New York and Massachusetts

Zachary Small, July 27, 2023

The exhibition at the Thomas Cole site pulls double-duty, restoring Barstow’s reputation as a pre-eminent American landscape painter while putting her in conversation with contemporary artists who also incorporate nature into their work. The roster of artists shown alongside the 19th-century painter is formidable…. Read the full article here. 

Susie Barstow lived a grand adventure but her art was erased

Philip Kennicott, July 24, 2023

CATSKILL, N.Y. — Susie Barstow is said to have walked 10 to 12 miles a day and sometimes more than twice that. She climbed all the major peaks of the Adirondack, White and Catskill Mountains, traveled the country from end to end, spent time in Europe staying current with developing art trends, and ventured as far as India, China and Japan. She was a successful artist, with an established studio in Brooklyn and elite clients and students. At a time when art was a men’s club, Barstow built not only a commercially successful career, but a formidable reputation as a landscape artist. … Read the full article here. 

Exhibition Review: Women, Land and Art at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Erika Gaffney, July 6, 2023

Last weekend marked my first-ever visit to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site (TCNHS) in Catskill, New York. The English-American painter after whom this museum is named founded the Hudson River School, a movement traditionally associated with male artists. But in recent years, art historians, curators, dealers and other stakeholders have begun to shine a light on the women artists of the Hudson River School…. Read the full article.

Susie Barstow, a 19th-Century Artist Who Hiked Mountains in Bloomers to Paint Stunning Landscapes, Finally Gets a Museum Retrospective

Sarah Cascone, July 4, 2023

The result is a two-part exhibition pairing work by Barstow—who already had one piece in the Cole house collection—and other women of the Hudson River School, with that of contemporary women artists responding to the landscape. It’s a collaboration between Siegel, who handled the historic material (and also wrote a new monograph about Barstow), and Thomas Cole National Historic Site chief curator Kate Menconeri and assistant curator Amanda Malmstrom, who enlisted the show’s living artists. … Read the full article. 

Women rule the landscape–then and now–in Cole exhibits

William Jaeger, June 28, 2023

The problem begins if you think women don’t usually paint landscapes. OK, you admit, they do now — women do everything now — but what about in the 1800s? “Women Reframe American Landscape” at the Thomas Cole House gives proof that women did everything then, too. And women are growing our understanding of the landscape into the 21st century. … Read the full article

5 Unmissable Art Road Trips for Every Kind of Traveler

Cultured Magazine, June 27, 2023

Go back in time with a visit to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, which houses the home and studio of Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole. On view is a two-part exhibition examining female artists’ treatment of the landscape: first, a survey of the work of lesser-known Hudson River School painter Susie M. Barstow, and second, a show of contemporary interpretations of the landscape motif by artists including Kay Walkingstick, Jean Shin, and Teresita Fernández. … Read the full article.

Women Reframe American Landscape Painting At Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Chadd Scott, June 26, 2023

Barstow (1836-1923) receives the first retrospective of her career one century following her death… Read the full article here. 

REVIEW: ‘Women Reframe American Landscape’ celebrates women artists of the Hudson River School with historical and contemporary works

Lauren Levato Coyne, May 12, 2023

“Women Reframe American Landscape: Susie Barstow & Her Circle / Contemporary Practices” is a two-part exhibition that exemplifies what the Cole Site does best—placing contemporary artists in dialogue with painters from the Hudson River School. … Read the full article here.

The Roundtable: “Susie Barstow & Her Circle” at Thomas Cole National Historic Site as part of the “Women Reframe American Landscape” exhibition

Joe Donahue, May 5, 2023

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York presents a two-part exhibition titled “Women Reframe American Landscape” May 6 to October 29, 2023. … Listen here.

8 must-see summer museum exhibitions to visit in the Berkshires

Jennifer Huberdeau, May 5, 2023

With so many artistic offerings on the horizon, we’ve put together a list of eight museum exhibitions that we feel are “must-see” shows this summer — exhibitions that reinsert women artists into Hudson River School movement; explore form, function and design; celebrate collections and careers and highlight individual artists in new ways. … Read the full article here.

 

2022

Thomas Cole Historic site breaks ground on $1.8M renovation project

Mellisa Manno, Nov 20, 2022

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site, home to the Hudson River School and birthplace of the American art movement, has broken ground on a $1.8 million renovation project that will launch a new comprehensive visitor center…. Read the full article here.

Marc Swanson Draws Comfort From Rural Cemeteries and ’80s Club Music

Scott Heller, November 8, 2022

For his eerie installation, “A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco,” the artist looked to Maggie Nelson, Hollywood glamour and upstate New York. Read the full article here.

At Mass MoCA, dead deer and disco lights elegize a dying world

Murray Whyte, November 3, 2022

NORTH ADAMS, Mass., AND CATSKILL, N.Y. — Marc Swanson works on a rural property nestled in the Hudson River Valley that 200 years ago inspired a school of painters who found in its pristine waters and leafy glades the presence of the divine. Lately, for Swanson, it’s been as much a ringside seat to a climate apocalypse as a bucolic refuge. “A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco,” his sprawling exhibition that spans a pair of large galleries at Mass MoCA in North Adams and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, N.Y., is his response to it. … Read the full article here. 

REVIEW: Marc Swanson, Thomas Cole National Historic Site and MASS MoCA

Lauren Levato Coyne, Nov/Dec Issue

Marc Swanson’s “A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco” offers a queer elegy for our collective climate futures. The two-venue exhibition tackles… Read the full article here.

11 Historic Artists’ Homes & Studios to Enjoy the Changing Seasons

Haley Somolinos, October 21, 2022

Artists have always drawn inspiration from the changing of the seasons, and fall is often the perfect time to visit historic artists’ homes and studios to see how the shifting landscapes provided creative influence for their works. … Read the full article here.

The Best of Our Knowledge: Exploring a Virtual Painting

Lucas Willard, October 21, 2022

A conversation with Thomas Cole National Historic Site Executive Director Betsy Jacks and The Best of Our Knowledge host Lucas Willard about the new digital education prototype that transforms Thomas Cole’s 1843 painting River in the Catskills into a digital world that students can enter and navigate. Listen here.

Day Trip: Olana & Thomas Cole Historic Sites

Jamie Larson, August 28, 2022

The Olana State Historic Site, located just outside Hudson, New York, and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, across the Hudson River in Catskill, live in perpetual conversation with each other. The best way to engage in the dialogue between Olana, the home of Hudson River School of painting master Frederic Church, and that of Church’s teacher and mentor Thomas Cole, is to visit them both. That’s easy enough to do, given the sites are conveniently—and intentionally—connected by the scenic Hudson River Skywalk that spans the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. … Read the full story here.

“A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco” at Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Natasha Chuk, August 13, 2022

At the famous painter’s home in Catskill, Swanson’s exhibition is in dialogue with Cole’s landscapes and fondness for the natural environment, offering an update to Cole’s 19th century concerns and idealized mountain views, which were created to critique the exploitation of land for the benefit of industry. … Read the full article here.

The Roundtable: “Marc Swanson: A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco” at Thomas Cole National Historic Site and MASS MoCA

Joe Donahue, August 11, 2022

A new exhibition of art installations by Catskill-based artist Marc Swanson is now at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. The exhibition — titled “Marc Swanson: A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco” — is the second part of a two-part exhibition of his work that is also on display at MASS MoCA. The exhibition is inspired by the work of Thomas Cole and his warnings about environmental damage. … Listen here.

‘Thomas Cole’s Studio: Memory and Inspiration’ Review: What Might Have Been

Barrymore Laurence Scherer, July 19, 2022

This intimate show tantalizes in unexpected ways. By juxtaposing finished works spanning his career with others in progress, it enables us to peer insightfully into Cole’s visual imagination and working methods…Ultimately, this moving show emphasizes the tragedy of a flourishing artistic existence cut short. … Read the full article here.

 

Thomas Cole’s studio rises from the ground to enrich connection to artist

William Jaeger, June 23, 2022

We might wish that Thomas Cole’s New Studio in Catskill had somehow survived from the 1840s until now, with all its vintage wood and rippled glass. We could then feel, maybe, what Cole experienced that one final year he worked there, 1847.

But we are left with a richer narrative, a story about loss, about cultural amnesia and then about an awakening and a kind of redemption…. Read the full article here.

The Roundtable: “Thomas Cole’s Studio: Memory and Inspiration”

Joe Donohue, May 10, 2022

We’ll learn about the new exhibition “Thomas Cole’s Studio: Memory and Inspiration,” which explores the creative directions of the painter’s last years, the rich and diverse group of works left in his studio at his death, and how his example so powerfully affected the evolution of art in America…Listen here.

New Exhibit of Thomas Cole Works reimagines Hudson River School painter’s last days

Karen Croke, April 16, 2022

Thomas Cole was already the most famous landscape painter in America when he died unexpectedly at the age of 47 in 1848. One of the Hudson River School painters, Cole lived and worked in Catskill. His death shook the American art world, according to Franklin Kelly, senior curator of American paintings at the National Gallery of Art… Read the full article here.

Painter Thomas Cole’s personal journal published

Tracy Ziemer, April 16, 2022

Having lived in the U.S. between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War — a period of great political and societal change — Cole writes about then-emerging industries and technologies, such as the railroad and the daguerreotype, and offers incredible details about hikes in the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains. … Read the full article here.

What does it mean to live in the ruins of the future? At Mass MoCA, Marc Swanson’s answer is catastrophic beauty.

Jennifer Huberdeau, April 8, 2022

The influences and inspirations of the past and present—the nightclubs of his youth, the woods of today, the works of Thomas Cole, the impact of climate change, the similarities of the initial non-responses of the White House to AIDS and COVID-19—are ever present, as they mix and mingle throughout A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco…. Read the full article here.

Connecting Point

April 7, 2022

Marc Swanson discusses his new exhibit and how his work examines the relationship between humans and the natural world. Watch the video here.

 

Re-Imagining Thomas Cole’s Last Studio

Sarah Rose Sharp, March 3, 2022

It is hard to say where Cole’s multitudinous interests would have taken him, if not for his early demise at the age of 47 in February of 1848. But a new exhibition opening on April 30 at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York, promises to give viewers an idea of the creative directions of the painter’s last years with a selection of works left in his studio at his death. … Read the full article here.

2021

The Catskills Are Still the Perfect Fall Escape—Here’s How to Plan Yours

Peter Terzian, November 9, 2021

The village of Catskill doesn’t seem particularly Catskilly. That’s partly because it’s located on the Hudson River, several miles to the east of the mountains that give the region its name. Still, you can see those mountains, a bumpy band of grayish lilac, from the house of Thomas Cole, where my husband, Caleb, and I found ourselves one recent afternoon. Read the full article here.

Building Bridges: An inside look at the new exhibition Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment

James D. Balestrieri, November/December 2021

A potent contribution to the relatively new notion that artists like Cole, Church and Heade were proto-environmentalists whose art brought them close to the natural world they loved and, as a consequence, made them frontline witnesses to its devastation. Read the full article here.

Summer’s Last Hummingbirds

Ralph Gardner Jr., October 9, 2021

With the exception of a few stragglers, hummingbirds have departed the Hudson Valley for their winter homes in southern Mexico and Central America. Most of those that remain can be spotted at an exhibition called “Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment.” Read and listen to the full article here.

Cross Pollination and Creativity Along the Hudson River

Kate Menconeri and William L. Coleman, October 7, 2021

Cross Pollination … is an exploration of systems of pollination in both nature and ecology, as well as a metaphor for the interplay of art and science, and relationships among artists across generations. Read the full article here.

In the Hudson River Valley, Artists Navigate Ecology

Sarah Rose Sharp, October 5, 2021

There is a definite poignance to this exhibition, which pits the nascent awareness of human impact on wild spaces evident even in the 19th century to our present-day urgency around climate change and the need for meaningful revision of our relationship with consumption of natural resources. Read the full article here. 

Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment

Jason Rosenfeld, September 2021

Cross Pollination addresses an element of the work of the Hudson River School (or First New York School) and its present inheritors upstate (or Third New York School) … that is, the ecological emergency that humanity has brought on itself and now must face in our fraught Anthropocene, as intuited in the works of our 19th-century forebearers. … Read the full article here. 

Many Artists Began Painting Outside During the Pandemic—And They Might Never Go Back

Dodie Kazanjian, September 15, 2021

Shara Hughes and Austin Eddy also escaped the city, renting a house in the Catskills this spring. It was directly across the street from the historic home of Thomas Cole and a short walk across the bridge to Frederic Church’s estate Olana, on the opposite bank of the Hudson River. Eddy went specifically to investigate plein air painting—he brought a bike and a portable easel. … Read the full article here. 

Hummingbirds on the Hudson

August 16, 2021

Cross Pollination is an enterprising endeavor that makes for a thrilling visit to the region, filled with insights running back and forth between past and present…. Read the full article here.

Must-See Sculpture Park Shows

August 5, 2021

A round-up of this year’s best outdoor sculpture exhibitions…. Read the full article here.

Pollination, indeed: Past, present intertwine at Cole, Olana exhibit

William Jaeger, July 30, 2021

Have a hankering to see a show that is muscular, multi-faceted, and tightly integrated into our regional lore and landscape? Head to Catskill and Hudson for the double-edged “Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church & Our Contemporary Moment.” … Read the full article here. 

 

Olana, Cole House continue successful partnership

Shrishti Mathew, July 28, 2021

The section of the Hudson River that flows between the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill and The Olana Partnership in Hudson is wide, and some would say so are the barriers that divide some arts institutions. The tourism history of both historic homes that also serve as art exhibit spaces – as befits the spirits of the original occupants – has traveled widely diverse paths to arrive at the present.

But now here they are, finding shared goals and making their now-three collaborations with each other a fluid success…. Read the full article here. 

Discover what drew artists, writers and presidents to New York’s Hudson Valley

Debra Bruno, July 30, 2021

The region is rich in timeless scenery and American history, and as more downstate New Yorkers have moved to the area, all kinds of places to go and things to do have opened up or expanded: new restaurants, well-marked hiking trails, river cruises, art galleries and museums that celebrate the Hudson River School painters. … Read the full article here

The Art Angle Podcast: How Two Painters Helped Spark the Modern Conservation Movement

An exhibition traces the impact of Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, and Martin Johnson Heade on contemporary environmentalism.

The Art Angle Podcast with Andrew Goldstein, July 30, 2021

Right now there is a powerful, highly ambitious, and deeply relevant art show in New York that weaves together the histories of conservation and American art in a way most people haven’t seen before… on either side of the river are the historic homes of the famed Hudson River School painters Thomas Cole and Frederic Church in New York’s Hudson River Skywalk Region. … Listen to the podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts

National Exhibition “Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, And Our Contemporary Moment”

Joe Donahue, July 8, 2021

Olana and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site are collaborating on a major exhibition, titled “Cross Pollination: Heade Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment.” It addresses the continuing influence of the Hudson Valley on American art and the cross pollination that is taking place across centuries. … Listen to the full interview here

 

Q & A with Elizabeth B. Jacks

W.A. Demers, June 4, 2021

When the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced that the Thomas Cole National Historic Site was among 30 finalists for the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Service — one of just 15 museums nominated across the United States to be selected as a finalist for the award — the site’s executive director Elizabeth “Betsy” B. Jacks, was understandably elated. …. Read the full article here

37 Art Centers Every Hudson Valleyite Should Visit

May 5, 2021

The home and studio of Thomas Cole, founder of the renowned 19th-century Hudson River School of American painting, has been painstakingly preserved and refurbished. Also known as Cedar Grove, it’s now a National Historic Landmark with trails, gardens, and gorgeous views of the landscapes that Cole cherished and depicted in numerous paintings. …. Read the full article here

Off the Beaten Path: Spring Lights at Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Cassie Hudson, April 20, 2021

For 20 years the Thomas Cole National Historic Site has been sharing the beauty of the painter’s home and studio with the community. This spring, people are welcome to enjoy a new community event called Spring Lights… Watch the full video here

Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill celebrates 20 years as finalist for national honor

Ariel Zangla, April 18, 2021

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site has more than one reason to celebrate this year… Watch the full video here

As Thomas Cole house mission adapts, message stays the same

Tresca Weinstein, April 12, 2021

Created with 450 glowing orbs, the immersive installation conjures up a magical space filled with life and warmth. The sound score by composer Greg Hanson integrates Cole’s writings (as voiced by the actor Jamie Bell) and sets an emotional narrative that is reflected in the lighting design by Chris Bocchiaro and Megan Kinneen…a film by artist Brian Kenny, projected on the wall of the Old Studio… Read the full article here

2020

Traveling through time with Thomas Cole

Robert and Johanna Titus, October 16, 2020

We like to think that we are good citizens of the Catskills and the Hudson Valley. Of course, we do a lot of writing hereabouts, but also, we belong to a number of our region’s historical, artistic, and conservation groups…. Read the full article here

Standing Where it Happened

By Barrymore Laurence Scherer, October 7, 2020

Museums may represent the final destination of an artwork, but the artist’s studio is its birthplace. Therefore, historic studios can offer an unparalleled experience of closeness to the creative act—even when visited digitally.

Among the most venerable in the U.S. is Cedar Grove in Catskill, N.Y., now revered as the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, home of the painter and founder of the Hudson River School of landscape painting. …. Read the full article here

The Critics Notebook

By The Editors, September 4, 2020

The Pollinator Pavilion, at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site: Though the Thomas Cole National Historic Site’s interior remains closed to visitors, those passing through the Hudson Valley this autumn might want to stop by anyway to enjoy the open grounds…. Read the full article here

Thomas Cole Site Unveils Charging Station

By Sara Trafton, Columbia Greene Media, August 24, 2020

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announced the installation of an electronic vehicle charging station, the first in Catskill. The charging station, which was made possible by a donation from local residents and environmentalists Sara and Tom de Swardt, features two charging ports and allows two vehicles to charge at the same time… Read the full article here

The Pollinator Pavilion Opens at the Thomas Cole Site

 August 7, 2020

This Friday, August 7, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York, unveils The Pollinator Pavilion, a new public artwork by internationally renowned artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood… Read the full article here

Editors’ Picks: 17 Events for Your Art Calendar This Week, From a Peek Into MoMA’s Film Vault to the Parrish Reopening

By Artnet News, August 4, 2020

Husband and wife artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood have teamed up once again, this time on a new public artwork designed to attract hummingbirds—yes, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird can be found in New York—and other pollinators… Read the full article here

An Upstate art Installation let’s visitors commune with hummingbirds

By Howard Halle, July 31, 2020

We recommend making a weekend getaway to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, NY. There, you’ll find Pollinator Pavilion, an interactive outdoor art installation by artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood, which is described as a “fantastical architectural setting that offers miraculous moments in which individuals can encounter hummingbirds”… Read the full article here

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The Hudson Valley and Northeast’s Museums Start Reopening

By Nicki Donohue, July 29, 2020

In Catskill, the Thomas Cole House’s interior remains closed to the public but guests can explore the estate grounds by reserving an “Outdoor Explore Kit,” which includes souvenirs, walking directions to Catskill Creek, and a guidebook… Read the full article here

En Plein Air: Artists’ Haunts Beckon As the World Reopens

By Laura Beach, June 23, 2020

Largely overshadowed by the visible frustration and fatigue of the past few months, creativity is on the rise. With everything from the museum blockbuster to the summer vacation season effectively upended, we are reassessing our engagement with the material world… Read the full article here

Redefining the “Sublime”: In the Footsteps of Thomas Cole

By Robert Titus, PhD, and Johanna Titus, May/June 2020

We are scientists: Robert is a geologist and Johanna is a biologist. Ours are the two leading sciences of the landscape. We are also resident’s of New York State’s Catskill Mountains… Read the full article here

New Book Explores Creative Homes and Spaces Where Art Was Made

By Charles Desmarais, April 27, 2020

What books have you chosen for quarantine reading? I would not have thought first of a travel guidebook. But a new one that arrived in the mail last week carried me across the U.S. on a tour so absorbing, I hardly noticed that the trip was made entirely by armchair…. Read the full article here

Earth Day 2070: A World Lost

Story and Photography by Pete Muller, April 2020

As New York’s Hudson Valley was cleared to make way for agriculture and feed a thriving tannery industry, the 19th-century painter Thomas Cole lamented the destruction of his beloved forests…Read the full article hereSee an excerpt here.

In 1845 Hudson River School Founder Thomas Cole Argued That ‘Art Rekindles the Soul.’ Read an Excerpt From His Stirring Lecture.

April 16, 2020

In 1845, three years before his death, the American painter Thomas Cole, who is widely regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, wrote a lecture on the value of art as a public and moral good. Art, he wrote…Read the full article here.

The Critic’s Notebook: Thomas Cole, Leonard Bernstein, the Yale Series of Younger Poets & more.

April 7, 2020

Lecture on Art, by Thomas Cole (Thomas Cole National Historic Site): The Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole’s visionary nature was on display…Read here.

 

Take Virtual Trip to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site and Get Immersed in American Landscape Painting

March 16, 2020

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York, offers an array of online programs covering the painter Thomas Cole, his period in America and…Read here.

 

Major Collaborative Exhibition to Open in May at Olana State Historic Site and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site

February 28, 2020

Exhibit explores the theme of “cross pollination” in art and the environment from the 19th century to the contemporary moment…Read here.

2019

Staring into the Soul of the Catskills Through a Pinhole

With his camera obscura, Shi Guorui reinterprets the landscapes of the Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole. 

By Meredith Mendelsohn, October 24, 2019

Sometime last summer, a rectangular tent appeared in the woods off a trail in the Catskills…Read here.

The View That Launched American Art

Podcast hosted by Davis Dunavin, September 20, 2019

Two 19th century artists defined American landscape painting. Their art took them all over the world. But they always returned to the mountains and valleys around New York’s Hudson River….Listen here

Re-envisioning Cole’s Catskills

By Eleanor Gustafson, September 17, 2019

In 2014 destiny brought Guorui to Catskill, New York, where he was inspired by the Hudson valley light and landscapes that so inspired Cole.

This fall you can see his results in SHI GUORUI: Ab/Sense-Pre/Sense, opening at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site on September 22. We spoke to Kate Menconeri, director of exhibitions and collections and curator at the site and curator of the exhibition….Read here

‘Thomas Cole’s Refrain: The Paintings of Catskill Creek’ Review: Elegies

By Barrymore Laurence Scherer, August 10, 2019

An exhibition of the English-born painter’s lesser-known Hudson Valley scenes evinces his love for natural beauty and sorrow over its devastation.
Although the English-born painter Thomas Cole (1801-1848) is widely regarded…Read here

No. 402: Cole’s Catskill Creek

Podcast hosted by Tyler Green, July 28, 2019

For the first time, the exhibition considers Cole’s paintings of Catskill Creek…Listen here

Timelessness in Works by Thomas Cole and Brice Marden

By Peter Schjeldahl, May 27, 2019

Two small shows in the Hudson Valley hint at long spiritual rhythms that are not lost, though they may be occluded, in the staccato frenzies of of our day.
Two sublime small shows that will last the summer in towns along the Hudson River remind me of something that art is good for. Read here

Thomas Cole up the Creek

By Bruce Weber, May/June 2019

Only a short walk from Thomas Cole’s house and studio in upstate New York winds a stretch of Catskill Creek that the painter would return to depict again and again…Read Here

Emily Cole’s Artwork takes Center Stage at Cole Historic Site

By Dave Lucas, March 8, 2019

An artist with deep roots in upstate New York is celebrated this month with the first exhibition of her work in over a century…Read Here

 

2018

 

Surveying the scenery at the Albany Airport Gallery

Artists and writers take cues from Thomas Cole’s defense of natural beauty in “Landmark” exhibition

By Amy Griffin, The Albany Times Union

Landscape art and environmentalism have long been linked. Artists who are inspired by nature tend to want to preserve it. Though the focus of the environmental movement has evolved since the 19th century–from preserving natural treasures to averting global catastrophe–appreciation of all that nature has to offer has been a common thread. Read Here.

 

 

On Exhibit: ‘Landmark’ Looks at Environment and Us

At airport, Thomas Cole Works Brought into Modern Context

By Indiana Nash, The Daily Gazette

“Landmark” is a fitting exhibition, not only because it’s informed and inspired by Thomas Cole but also because it’s at the Albany International  Airport, the lift-off point into sweeping aerial views of the Capital Region. Read Here.

Hudson Talbott’s New Book On Thomas Cole and The Birth of American Art

By Joe Donahue, WAMC

Artist and author, Hudson Talbott, join us now to tell us about his new book, “picturing America: Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Art.”
It is a fascinating look at artist Thomas Cole’s life and takes young readers from his humble beginnings to his development of a new painting style that became America’s first formal art movement: the Hudson River school of painting. Read Here.

 

Kids’ Almanac (10/18-10/25)

By Erica Chase-Salerno, Hudson Valley One

“All nature here is new to art. The mists were resting in the valley of the Hudson — the tops of mountains were visible on the other side — you might imagine them in another world. The fields in shadow were a most beautiful fresh green, the mountain side was brilliant though dark.”
–Thomas Cole

Discover the Thomas Cole National Historic Site
How did Englishman Thomas Cole catapult to the top of the 1800s US art game? The father of this new style of landscape painting, now known as the Hudson River School, had talent, skill and popularity. Read Here.

Where Canvases Leap to Life: Eight stop trail in the Catskills takes you to scenes that inspired artists

By Ben Yagoda, The Washington Post

My wife and I were standing on a bridge by the side of Route 23A, outside of Catskill, NY, a bit more than a hundred miles up the Hudson River from New York City. Read Here.

Hudson Talbott Illustrates Life of Thomas Cole

From Staff Reports, Poughkeepsie Journal

“Picturing America: Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Art” is the latest book for children by Hudson Talbott.
The 32-page picture book takes readers on a journey through the life of Thomas Cole, father of the Hudson River School of landscape painting, America’s first major art movement. Read Here…

Albany International Airport and Thomas Cole Site Present New Exhibition

by Dave Lucas, WAMC

Albany International Airport’s Art & Culture Program and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill have partnered to present a new exhibition. Read Here…

 

Autumn At The Thomas Cole National Historic Site

by Joe Donahue, WAMC

The 2nd annual Hudson River Skywalk Arts Festival is on Sunday, September 30 at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, and Olana. Read Here…

 

 

 

How Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School Artists Helped Define a Nation

by Debra Bruno, The Washington Post

The Painters of the Hudson River School were grandiose, romantic, dramatic and brilliantly colorful. They also helped define the nation, championing wild America to a population that often saw nature as a thing to be feared and tamed, not celebrated. Read Here…

 

 

Thomas Cole’s Historic Home Inspires Contemporary Artists

by Antiques and the Arts Weekly

Catskill, N.Y.–A new contemporary art exhibition, “Spectrum,” has opened at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, revealing a visual dialogue about color between 11 contemporary artists and Thomas Cole (1801-1848), founder of America’s first major art movement, the Hudson River School of landscape painting. Read Here…

The Thomas Cole House, Olana, and Lyndhurst

by Jason Rosenfeld, The Brooklyn Rail

The Picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole’s Trans-Atlantic Inheritance CEDAR GROVE: THE THOMAS COLE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE-MAY1-NOVEMBER 4, 2018

Costume & Custom: Middle Eastern Threads at Olana
OLANA STATE HISTORIC SITE,HUDSON, NY-JUNE 17-NOVEMBER 25, 2018 Read Here…

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A Guide to Columbia and Greene Counties: Hudson and Catskill

by Brian K. Mahoney, Chronogram

The county seats of Hudson and Catskill are dissimilar in many respects, but their residents are passionate about the possibilities for their towns. We speak to the movers and shakers in the two communities about what makes them tick. Read Here…

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6 Books to Read in September

by Brian K. Mahoney, Chronogram

Historic estates, exotic birds, troubled immigrants, deranged loners, and parishes dealing with the tainted legacy of the Catholic Church make up our September list. Read Here…

 

The Artist Who Gave America Its First Signature Art Form

by Meredith Mendelson, Artsy

Early 19th-century America was a place of growing affluence. As wealth from agriculture and industry accumulated, New York’s moneyed classes hungered for cultural clout to add a luster of civility to the rugged face of the young republic. And as the urbanization of New York City intensified, city dwellers yearned for the picturesque. Read Here…

     

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The Thomas Cole House: A Kid-Friendly Historic Site in Catskill, NY

Catskill for Kids, Destinations

Blog by Kara Zauro

At the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, art, history, and nature converge. And it’s the kind of place that really lights up when inquisitive children arrive, so if your kids are interested in any of these subjects, definitely bring them along for a self-guided afternoon tour. Read Here…

 

Thomas Cole to Open Contemporary Art Exhibition with 11 Artists Responding to the Hudson River School Artist’s Work

by ArtFix Daily

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site has announced a new contemporary art exhibition SPECTURUM, opening August 14, that brings together the work of 11 contemporary artists that will be installed throughout the 19th-century historic home, studios, and grounds of the artist Thomas Cole (1801-1848) in Catskill, New York. Read Here…

 

Ralph Gardner Jr: The Novel In Performance

by Ralph Gardner JR, WAMC North-East Public Radio

I was unaware that when Hunter Thompson was a young writer he typed out “The Great Gatsby” and the “Sun Also Rises” to deconstruct how F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway achieved their effects and created their masterpieces. Read Here…

 

How Thomas Cole Learned the ABCs of Landscape Art

by Sammy Dalati, The Magazine Antiques

Even in such early work as The Clove, Catskills (1827) and View of Monte video, the Seat of Daniel Wadsworth, Esq. (1828), the facture and compositional strategies employed by Thomas Cole–a working-class boy from norther England, self-taught as an artist –demonstrated surprising conversance with European landscape paining of the time. Read Here…

A Guide to the Small Towns of Hudson Valley and the Catskills

by Amy Plitt, Curbed

You don’t have to get too far outside of New York City–30, maybe 40 miles–before the landscape changes. Dense urban areas and suburban strip malls grow fewer and farther between, and a more bucolic New York emerges. Read Here…

 

Thomas Cole: Eden to Empire, National Gallery, Review: We long to see more of this great American landscape painting in full flight

by Michael Glover, The Independent

Too much familiar Constable and Turner, and not quite enough Cole and his American successors.

Now here’s a surprise. This exhibition of work by the landscape painter Thomas Cole, though described as a collaboration between two institutions, feels like a tariff-free American import. Read Here...

Exhibition review: Thomas Cole: Eden to Empire at the National Gallery, WC2

Thomas Cole was the first to capture the vastness of the States

by Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times

“Can there be a country in the world better calculated than ours to exercise and to exalt the imagination…” asked De Witt Clinton in 1816. Read Here…

Make America Decay Again-Thomas Cole and Ed Ruscha Review

by Jonathan Jones, The Guardian

American art was invented by a young man from Lancashire who emigrated from Liverpool in 1818, and by 1825-still in his early 20s-was being hailed in New York as an “American genius.” There had, of course, been painters in America before Thomas Cole. Read Here… 

    

Hudson River Bridge Adds Interpretive Signs for Pedestrians

by Associated Press, Times Union

CATSKILL, N.Y. (AP) –
Pedestrians viewing the Hudson River from the Rip Van Winkle Bridge can now refer to a series of signs that include historical information.

The six signs were installed as part of the Hudson River Skywalk Project, which will connect the Thomas National Historic Site in Catskill with the Olana State Historic Site across the river. Read Here…

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Public Meeting Tonight On Skywalk Connecting Olana, Thomas Cole Sites

by Dave Lucas, Midday Magazine

The in-progress Skywalk project connecting two New York sites is the subject of public meeting tonight in Greene County.
Earlier this year, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of the Hudson River Skywalk Region. A $14.6 million Skywalk will connect two landmark historic sites–Olana State Historic Site in Hudson and Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill. Read Here…

 

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Catskill Culture

by Geddy Sveikauskas, Hudson Valley One

This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the
hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the
twilight,
Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms. Read Here…

 

Thomas Cole: A Conservative Conservationist

by Jennifer Kabat, The New York Review of Books

Every era gets its own Thomas Cole, the British-born, nineteenth century artist who ushered in a new age of American landscape painting. In the 1930s and 1940s, he was a precursor to artists like Grant Wood. Come the 1960s and 1970s, MoMA linked his brushwork to abstract expressionism. Read Here…

         

Understanding American art by Environmentalist art by looking across the pond

by Benjamin Cassidy, The Berkshire Eagle

Even as Thomas Cole painted American landscapes, his mind often inhabited terrain across the Atlantic Ocean. The England-born father of the Hudson River School artistic movement drew inspiration from artists across the pond, including J.M.W. Turner and John Constable. Read Here…

 

Environmentalist art before there was an “environment”

by Y.F.

TWO centuries ago Thomas Cole Arrived on American shores, bringing with him from England a new landscape painting tradition perfect for the wild expanses of the new world. Cole also brought a zeal for warning about the perils that unchecked industry posed to the natural world, establishing one of painting’s first environmental critiques. “Atlantic Crossings”, an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York that will travel to the National Gallery in London in June.Read Here…

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New Exhibition Opens at Thomas Cole National Historic Site

By Sparrow

“Thomas Cole invented the American sublime,” remarks Tim Barringer, an art history professor at Yale, speaking of the founder of the Hudson River School of art. Barringer is also co-curator of “picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole’s Trans-Atlantic Inheritance,” which opens on May 1 at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill. Read Here…

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Thomas Cole’s Majestic Wilderness and Dark Satanic Mills: A Feast at The Met Looks at the Founder of the Hudson River School and the Visionaries who Inspired Him

By R.C. Baker The Village Voice , April 2018

Thomas Cole, like us, lived in interesting times. Born in 1801, he grew up in an England disrupted by the industrial revolution and unsettled by the fervid passions of romanticism, where the poet and painter William Blake wrote of a “green and pleasant land” being overrun by “dark satanic mills.” Read Here…

Thomas Cole’s Sublime Art Opens At His National Historic Site May 1

By Antiques and the Arts Weekly , April 2018

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site will open the exhibition “Picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole’s Trans-Atlantic Inheritance” on May 1, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Thomas Cole’s arrival in America. Read Here…

Hudson Talbott Introduces Children To Thomas Cole

By Antiques and the Arts Weekly , April 2018

In an online version and softcover book (due to be published in September by Penguin Random House), author and illustrator Hudson Talbott introduces children to artist Thomas Cole, whose 200th anniversary of coming to America is being celebrated in 2018 with an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Read Here…

Thomas Cole’s Journey: Atlantic Crossings

By Joe Bucciero, The Brooklyn Rail, April 2018

“All nature here is new to art, no Tivolis, Ternis, Mont Blancs, Plinlimmons, hackneyed and worn by the daily pencils of hundreds; but primeval forests, virgin lakes and waterfalls.” So rhapsodized British-born painter Thomas Cole (1801-1848) on the appeal of the American landscape. Read Here…

An Online Story and Forthcoming Picture Book by Hudson Talbott Introduces 19th-Century Artist Thomas Cole to a New Generation

By Artfix Daily, March 2018.

Beloved children’s book author and illustrator Hudson Talbott has teamed up with the Thomas Cole National Historic Site to present Thomas Cole’s story online for free to children of all ages.Read Here…

            

Scenic Viewpoints Added to NY Bridge’s Rebuilt Sidewalk

By Associated Press, The New York Times, March 2018.

HUDSON, N.Y.–Scenic viewpoints have been added to the rebuilt sidewalk on one of the New York state-operated bridges spanning the Hudson River between Albany and New York City.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday three viewpoints, each 50 feet long by 10 feet wide, have been added along the mile-long sidewalk on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge linking Greene and Columbia counties…Read Here

          

Thomas Cole, American Moralist

Why this 19th-century master of the Hudson River landscape, who used his art to argue against industry’s assaults, is politically right for right now.

By Holland Cotter, The New York Times, March 2018

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new show, “Thomas Cole’s Journey: Atlantic Crossings” is gorgeous, politically right for right now, and a lesson in the mutability of art history…Read here.

     

                   A New Way of Seeing Artist Thomas Cole

By Alexandra Wolfe, The Wall Street Journal, January 2018

The curators of a new Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition might have titled it, “Everything you Knew About Thomas Cole.”

Cole is known as the father of the Hudson River School, a group of American artists who painted dramatic outdoor panoramas. But “Thomas Cole’s Journey: Atlantic Crossings” posits an artist with an international background and interests…Read Here.

   

“Thomas Cole’s Jouney: Atlantic Crossings’ Review: Hudson River School Headmaster

By Barrymore Laurence Scherer,The Wall Street Journal, January 2018

When, in 1848, the painter Thomas Cole suddenly died at age 47, his funeral oration was delivered by his celebrated friend William Cullen Bryant, the poet and journalist, who recalled the enthusiasm awakened by…pictures which carried the eye over scenes of wild grandeur peculiar to our country…and into the depths of skies…such as few but Cole could ever paint…Read Here

Thomas Cole: ravishing — and still resonant

By Ariella Budick, The Financial Times, Februrary 2018

Don’t be fooled by the ancient rivers and cloud-swathed peaks: Thomas Cole’s American landscapes are no more timeless than an “I’m With Her” button. He painted his visionary protests during the Andrew Jackson administration in the 1830s, and if they resonate with renewed vigour today, that’s partly because Jackson’s 21st-century admirer-in-chief inhabits the White House…Read Here

Thomas Cole’s Journey: Atlantic Crossings

By Jason Rosenfeld, The Brooklyn Rail, March 2018

In 2015 the painter Stephen Hannock and I curated “River Crossings” at Cedar Grove in Catskill, the home of Thomas Cole, and The Olana Partnership in Hudson, the home of Frederic Edwin Church, filling those loci of the evolution of American landscape painting with works by contemporary Hudson River Valley artists:…Read Here.  

‘Picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole’s Trans-Atlantic Inheritance’ to Open in the Artist’s Studio

By Artfix Daily, February 8, 2018

(ArtfixDaily.com) To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Cole’s arrival from England in 1818, the Thomas Cole Site is partnering with the Yale Center for British Art to present the special exhibition Picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole’s Trans-Atlantic Inheritance in Thomas Cole’s New Studio, in Catskill, NY…Read Here. 

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Voice for the Wilderness

By James D. Balestrieri, American Fine Art Magazine, January 2018

I spent my last birthday at Thomas Cole’s house and studio in Catskill, New York. The house, doubling as it did as his showroom – galleries as we know them did not exist in the United States much before the Civil War, and artists’ associations such as the National Academy of Design (which Cole had helped to found) only held annual exhibitions – was an architectural marvel in its humble way. …Read Here. 

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Sting and Thomas Cole: Artists on the Cutting Edge in their Own Times Meet in Spirit

By Dave Lucas, WAMC, Northeast Public Radio, January 8, 2018

This year marks the 200th anniversary of influential artist Thomas Cole’s first visit to the United States. The Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill and The Metropolitan Museum of Art are paying tribute  …Read Here. 

2017 

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Cedar Grove, Restored

By Michael J. Lewis, The New Criterion, December 2017

It is a perfectly natural impulse for us to wish the house of a cherished writer to illuminate his works. We are strangley pleased to visit the houses where Edgar Allen Poe boarded and find them cramped and forlorn. Or to discover that Sunnyside, Washington Irving’s house on the Hudson River, is a fantasy of a romantic Dutch cottage that might have loomed in one of his stories, mysterious in the moonlight…Our interest in a writer is what happens in his mind and not outside his window. Not so with the painter, for whom the house, and its site, can mean everything…Read Here. 

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‘Scenes of Solitude’ From the Hudson River School Artists

By John Hanc, The New York Times, October 23, 2017

…The show, which opened in July and will remain until 2019, has attracted visitors from as far away as Germany. Still, it can be seen as a sort of opening act for a much-anticipated exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Thomas Cole’s Journey: Atlantic Crossings,” opening in January 2018. (A third major exhibit, at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, N.Y., will be staged in May, featuring works of the school from Yale University’s collection…Read Here.

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KIKI SMITH: From the Creek

By Steven Pestana, Brooklyn Rail, October 6, 2017

From August 12 – November 19, visitors enter the domestic bliss of Thomas Cole’s Federal style home and are immediately greeted with the sensibility of his 21st century Catskill neighbor, the multidisciplinary artist Kiki Smith….Read Here.

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Famous Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole takes global presence; Thomas Cole House celebrates with an extended season

By Anthony Fiducia, Columbia-Greene Media, September 26, 2017

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site leaders will extend the 2017 season to celebrate recent attendance growth and plan to have the fames artist as the subject of two major exhibitions. Organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the National Gallery in London….Read Here.

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Review Sanford Gifford in the Catskills at the Thomas Cole House

By Bruce Weber, The Magazine Antiques, September 6, 2017

Among members of the Hudson River School of painting, Sanford Gifford (1823-1880) has long been considered one of the most brilliant painters of light and air. His art is the subject of the intimate, beautifully curated exhibition Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills on view through October 29th….Read Here.

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Home Invasion

By Sparrow, Chronogram, September 1, 2017

“She’s very playful,” says Kate Menconeri, curator of Thomas Cole House. Menconeri is speaking of Kiki Smith, whose exhibition “From the Creek” will remain at the National Historic Site in Catskill until October 29. This is the second installment of “Open House,” a series in which contemporary artists react to the Cole homestead. Thomas Cole, the founder of the Hudson River School of art, lived in the home until his death in 1848…..Read Here.

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Contemporary Art Steams up the Hudson

By Nancy Princenthal, The New York Times, August 25, 2017

This summer, a bounty of classic and modern artwork has made its way to venues dotted along the river valley….Read Here.

Kiki Smith solo exhibit opens at Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill

Hudson Valley One, August 10, 2017

The life’s work of German-born artist Kiki Smith has been celebrated by critics and audiences and shown in prestigious exhibition venues around the world since the 1980s….Read Here.

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My View: Local perseverance creates an economic engine

By Linda Gentalen, The Register-Star and Daily Mail, , July 29, 2017

The season opening of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site last month was stunning, unveiling two landmark exhibitions: “The Parlors” and “Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills.” As a Board Member since 2005 of this historic site in Catskill, I couldn’t help but marvel….Read Here.

The Thomas Cole Site Project Marries Historic Restoration, New Technology

Antiques and The Arts Weekly, July 28, 2017

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site which opened for the season in early May, recently introduced its newly restored parlors in the 1815 home of Thomas Cole….Read Here.

The best summer getaways from New York City

By Lynn Freehill-Maye, Time Out New York, June 27, 2017

The ruggedly beautiful Catskill Mountains have a multicentury history of creative inspiration and adventure. Washington Irving set “Rip Van Winkle” among their peaks, and Thomas Cole’s paintings of the area wound up radically changing how artists depict landscapes….Read Here.

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24 Hours in the Catskills: For art lovers, upstate New York offers plenty of options beyond the beaten path

By Alexis Soloski, Village Voice, May 30, 2017

Take the short, steep, mildly treacherous hike up to Kaaterskill Falls, and you’s find a rushing cataract that plunges 260 feet in two lacy drops. You’ll also see one of the most painted views of the nineteenth century, a favored subject of the Hudson River School, an art movement that ruled American visual culture for several decades…Read Here.

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Layer by layer, Conservator Thomas Cole

By Margaret Saliske, Poughkeepsie Journal, May 30, 2017

Even for those of us well-versed in the Hudson River School of painting, the first major art movement in America, the discovery was stunning. Hidden under a century of paint in the parlors of the 1815 home of Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School, are elaborately painted borders…Read Here.

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Backtracks in Time: Betsy Jacks

Hosted by Jack Sencabaugh, WGXC Radio, May 23, 2017

Betsy Jacks, executive director of the Thomas Cole House at Cedar Grove in the Village of Catskill, talks about how Cole came to Catskill, the history of the house and efforts to preserve it, and ongoing renovation projects…Listen Here. 

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The 7 Best Weekend Getaways for NYC-Based Art Lovers

By Elizabeth Fazarre, Architectural DigestMay 22, 2017

From Storm King to the birthplace of the Hudson River School, these cultural destinations are well worth the short journey from the city… Read Here. 

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Thomas Cole comes to life thanks to multimedia renovations at Cedar Grove in Catskill

By Lynn Woods, Hudson Valley One, May 18, 2017

Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Catskill, NY, features paintings by the 19th-century landscape painter Sanford Gifford, whose work was inspired by Thomas Cole. …Read entire article

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Sanford Gifford in the Catskills includes Walking-and-Driving Tour of Art Scenes

ARTFIXdaily, May 17, 2017

Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Catskill, NY, features paintings by the 19th-century landscape painter Sanford Gifford, whose work was inspired by Thomas Cole. …Read entire article

Guide to Hudson New York and Nearby Points of Interest

By Nicole Anderson, The Magazine Antiques, May 16, 2017

The English-born artist Thomas Cole (1801-1848) tolerated no ill comparisons to his adopted home in upstate New York. As he wrote to a friend in 1842: “Must I tell you that neither the Alps nor the Apennines, no, nor even Aetna itself, have dimmed, in my eyes, the beauty of our own Catskills?”. …Read entire article

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Cole Historic Site Opens for the Season with New Exhibits

Hosted by Joe Donahue, The Round Table, WAMC, Northeast Public Radio, Tuesday, May 9, 2017  

“The Parlors” is an immersive installation that combines technology and meticulous historic restoration of the two parlors of Cole’s 1815 Home, the rooms where America’s first major art movement was born. It features a stunning discovery revealed during the restoration: the earliest-known, interior decorative painting by an American artist…Listen Here. 

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Cole Historic Site Opens for the Season with New Exhibits

The New York Times, Wednesday, May 3, 2017 

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is open for the season in the Hudson Valley with new exhibits. The Catskill attraction used to be the home of the painter who inspired the Hudson River School art movement in the 19th century…Read entire article

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OUR VIEW: Cole exhibit for the ages

Register-Star, Tuesday, May 2, 2017 

Despite the threat to local arts posed by federal budget cuts sought for the National Endowment for the Arts, officials at the Thomas Cole Historic Site in Catskill forged ahead with their most ambitious exhibit to date…Read entire article

Thomas Cole National Historic Site opening on Tuesday in Catskill to feature restored parlors of 1815 home

By Freeman Staff, Daily Freeman, Sunday, April 30, 2017 

Despite the threat to local arts posed by federal budget cuts sought for the National Endowment for the Arts, officials at the Thomas Cole Historic Site in Catskill forged ahead with their most ambitious exhibit to date…Read entire article

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Historic Restoration at Thomas Cole Site; “Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills” Opens Season

By Dave Lucas, Midday Magazine, WAMC, Northeast Public Radio,  Friday, April 28, 2017  

The Thomas Cole Historic Site in Catskill is showing off its renovations this week. WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas got a tour of the main home Thursday, experiencing both an “immersive installation” and the “Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills” exhibit…Read entire article

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‘Darkness Visible’: Cole House previews historic exhibit

By Daniel Zuckerman, Catskill Daily Mail, Friday, April 28, 2017  

Members of the media were given a preview of the reopening of the main home at the Thomas Cole Historic Site in Catskill with an immersive installation and the exhibit “Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills,” curated by Kevin Avery…Read entire article

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Thomas Cole & His Cedar Grove

Text by Jennifer Holz, Photos by George Holz, Upstate Diary, Thursday, April 27, 2017 

The air is buzzing at Cedar Grove, 19th-century landscape painter Thomas Cole’s country home in Catskill, NY, where historians recently uncovered century-old decorative artworks hidden beneath layers of paint …Read entire article

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Painting in the Footsteps of Thomas Cole

By Steven Weinberg, Hyperallergic, Thursday, April 27, 2017

Cole wanted you to stare off into the impending destruction of a landscape and ponder the sublime beauty of it all — which, man, I did…Read entire article

Hudson Vallery Magazine

Cedar Grove to reopen in May

By Jane Anderson, Hudson Valley Magazine, Wednesday, April 26, 2017

A new multimedia installation at Thomas Cole’s homestead makes you feel like the artist himself is giving the tour…Read entire article

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Actor Jamie Bell Brings Cole to Life

By Daniel Zuckerman, Catskill Daily Mail, Saturday, April 22, 2017

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site’s new interactive exhibit is receiving a bit of star power with “Billy Elliot” star Jamie Bell supplying the voice of Cole for the exhibit, the site’s executive director said Thursday…Read entire article

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Connecting with the Land

By James D. Balestrieri, American Fine Art Magazine, Issue 33, May/June 2017 

One of the many cool aspects of Sanford R. Gifford in the Catskills, a new exhibition at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York, is the “walking-and-driving-experience” that allows visitors to see the very views that inspired…Read entire article

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Thomas Cole murals uncovered on walls of Catskills home in New York State

The Independent, March 9, 2017 

Not only did Thomas Cole paint the lush mountain landscapes that inspired the Hudson River School art movement of the 19th century, he also painted on the walls of his home. Lost beneath layers of paint for more than a century, the patterned borders below the celings were rediscovered…Read entire article

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Lost art of Thomas Cole uncovered in his NY home

Associated Press, March 8, 2017 

Watch the video here. 

Our view: Tourism gains momentum

The Register-Star, February 23, 2017

Nine years ago, the Olana National Historic Site in Greenport potted about $8 million for the local economy. Jump ahead to 2016, and the THomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill pulled in almost $2 million…Read entire article

Cole House, Olana have pumped million into local economy

By Daniel Zuckerman, The Daily Mail, February 22, 2017

The Thomas Cole Historic Site announced Tuesday that results of an economic impact study show that the site has a nearly $1.9 million impact on the county, up 44 percent from a previous 2010 study…Read entire article

Follow the Footsteps of the first American artists

Group Tour Magazine, February 20, 2017

It might be hard to imagine, but in the early 19th century the concept of being an American and creating Amercican art was not well recognized. Many American artists were searching for a style of art they could call their own. Then along came Thomas Cole (1801-1848)…Read entire article

A sneak preview of the Thomas Cole House restoration

By Geddy Sveikauskas, Hudson Valley One, February 19, 2017

Thomas Cole’s home on Spring Street in Catskill has left behind its near-death experience of the 1970s and as an independent non-profit organization affiliated with the National Park Service has been engaged in a recovery that would have seemed miraculous a generation ago…Read entire article

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site to Host Exhibition of 19-th Century Landscape Painter Sanford Gifford

ArtfixDaily, February 1, 2017

The exhibition will focus on his paintings of the Catskills – with works loaned by Harvard, Yale, and other leading institutions; it is curated by Dr. Kevin Avery, Senior Research Scholar at The Metropolitan Museum of Art…Read entire article

Thomas Cole Site details changes coming with May reopening

By Tim Blydenburgh, Albany Times Union, January 25, 2017 

Through hidden audio and moving-graphics presentations, visitors will be able to hear the thoughts of Thomas Cole (1801-48) and the historic conversations that took place in the parlors of his 1815 home, where America’s first major art movement, the Hudson River School of painting, was founded…Read entire article

My View: Transforming the Thomas Cole National Historic Site

By Betsy Jacks, The Daily Mail, January 13, 2017 

The home of the landscape artist Thomas Cole (1801-1848) in Catskill has been of major cultural significance since he lived there, and it became a National Historic Site in 1998. The opportunity now is to transform it into a destination renowned worldwide as the birthplace of American art…Read entire article

2016  

The Bibliophilist, Thomas Cole: Artist as Architect

By Valerie A. Balint

To stand in the brand-new building where Thomas Cole: Artist as Architect is on view at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York is to take in the splendor of a soaring ceiling and rich red walls, replete with a visual feast of drawings, paintings, architectural renderings and books, all of which explore Cole’s lifelong interest in architecture… Read entire article

Schumer pushing for two new historic restoration projects

By Andrew Banas

At the foot of the Catskills lays a house that is over 200-years-old, but the people who work there say they are still finding new surprises every day…“We were interested in restoring these rooms to the way it looked when Thomas Cole lived here,” Jacks said. So, they hired a painter to help. “But what he found was really extraordinary,” Jacks said… Read entire article and watch video

Cole House Finds Art in Audio 

By Greg Hudson

Curators at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill have unveiled a new audio program which will enable visitors to experience a guided tour of the site at their own pace… Read entire article

Nature Builds/We Cover at Thomas Cole House

By

Nature Builds/We Cover” at Thomas Cole House. Brightening up the old place. Exhibit features work of artist who blends sculpture, painting. Nature Builds/We Cover” makes the younger man’s work surprising and fresh again… Read entire article

The Painter Thomas Cole, and His Architectural Ambitions

By Joyce Beckenstein, The New York Times – May 27, 2016

This year, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site celebrates the construction of Cole’s New Studio, a replica built upon the footprint of the original building, and according to the artist’s architectural plan. The space’s inaugural exhibition, “Thomas Cole: The Artist as Architect,” through Oct. 30, is a pleasant surprise… Read entire article

Thomas Cole as Architect Exhibit to Open at Artist’s NY Home

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, CATSKILL, NY – Jan 22, 2016

The inaugural exhibit has been announced for a reconstructed building located at the upstate New York home of the founder of the Hudson River School of art.

Officials at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill say the exhibit will focus on the landscape artist’s little-known contributions to American architecture. Cole, who died in 1848, was one of the designers of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus…. Read entire article 

2015  

Over $600K Awarded to Thomas Cole Site for Interior Restoration

By Artfix Daily – September 14, 2015

Periwinkle blue walls in the foyer, lavender walls in the West Parlor, a red and gold carpet with pyramids and birds-of-paradise, and hand-painted borders by Thomas Cole himself on the walls … . These are some of the elements of the original décor of the first-floor rooms of Cole’s 1815 home that will be restored as a result of two major federal grants that were recently awarded to the Thomas Cole Historic Site: $460,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities and $150,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services…. Read entire article  

Thomas Cole’s Art Studio to Be Recreated

by Eve M. Kahn, The New York Times – July 23, 2015

The 19th-century painter Thomas Cole built an art studio with gingerbread woodwork and Hudson River views in Catskill, N.Y., but he enjoyed it for only a year or so before his death in 1848. Some brick and wooden fragments survive from the building, which was torn down in the early 1970s, while his nearby house, known as Cedar Grove, has been preserved as the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. This summer, contractors are finishing a reproduction of Cole’s design on the studio’s original foundation, basing it on vintage photos, sketches and paintings… Read entire article

Funds secured to restore wall paintings by Thomas Cole 

By WNYT Staff, WNYT – July 18, 2015

19th century Landscape artist Thomas Cole made his home in Catskill. His homestead surrounded by the beauty of the mountain range that was the subject of much of his art. But nobody knew that inside the home, Cole surrounded himself with art as well.  At least, until they were trying to figure out the original color of the parlor… Watch video

Restorer unearths historic paintings hidden in home of American master

by Sarah Kaplan, The Washington Post – July 2, 2015

It was supposed to be just a quick paint job, a few days at most. But when refurbisher Matthew Mosca began chipping away at decades of old paint coating the walls in the historic home of artist Thomas Cole, he was startled to discover a tangle of delicate designs buried beneath. “You’re not going to believe this, but there’s actually hand-painted drapery and thorns on the wall here,”… Read entire article

Unknown Thomas Cole Paintings Found at His Home

By Nate Schweber, The New York Times – July 1, 2015

CATSKILL, N.Y. — Late last year, Matthew J. Mosca, a specialist in historic paint finishes, gazed up at what looked like a scrap of wallpaper. It was jutting up from an old coat of red paint covering the walls of a pantry inside the yellow-brick farmhouse where the 19th-century artist Thomas Cole displayed paintings that revolutionized American ideas about art and wilderness. But when Mr. Mosca climbed a ladder, he found it was not wallpaper, but a bold black decorative pattern… Read entire article

 

Landscape Painting Discovered on Wall in Former Thomas Cole Home 

By WNYT Staff, WNYT

CATSKILL, N.Y. – There’s a new historic discovery in Greene County. Imagine chipping away at paint prepping to throw a new coat on, and discovering a priceless work of art. That’s what happened at the old residence of Thomas Cole. Now, Senator Chuck Schumer is asking for about $600,000 from The National Endowment for the Humanities to get the rest of that painting uncovered and restored…. Watch video

Also read: Thomas Cole and the Decorative Arts  

VQR / Jean Dunbar

 

‘River Crossings’ a Contemporary Art Exhibition at 2 Historic Sites of the Hudson River School

By Daniel Van Benthuysen, The New York Times – May 28, 2015

WHEN warm weather arrives, artists by the hundreds, including me, venture outside with paint boxes and portable easels…. Read entire article

Olana, Thomas Cole site team up for an artsy house party

By Amy Biancolli, The Albany Times Union – May 1, 2015

When Thomas Cole and Frederic Church open their homes to a contemporary art exhibit on Sunday, the hosts will be nowhere to be seen. They did, after all, die in 1848 and 1900. But they’ll still be chatting up a storm… Read entire article

Additional Exhibition Coverage for “River Crossings”: 

The Wall Street Journal
The Rogovoy Report
ABC News: New and Now: Lilac Fests, Hudson River Art, Night Exhibit
Stephen Hannock sets the stage for “River Crossings: Contemporary Art Comes Home”
Artist Pension Trust
Word Pond Blog
The Barlow Hotel Blog
PACE Gallery-Thomas Nozkowski
River Crossings Exhibit Brings Contemporary Art to the Mid-Hudson
I Love Hudson
Jerry Gretzinger highlights his work for River Crossings 
Contemporary Exhibit Set For Thomas Cole, Olana Sites
Catskill unveils proposal for cross-Hudson shuttle
New York Times- Cedar Grove, Peabody Essex and Other Niche Museums Foray Into Contemporary Art
Spectre Arts- “Contemporary Artists Head North to Pay Homage to the Hudson Valley’s Artistic Past”
Greene County Council on the Arts
Auction Central News- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” 
On the Scene- “Olana and Thomas Cole to Host Joint Exhibition, River Crossings
New York Times- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit”
Metro Pictures Gallery- Cindy Sherman
Catskill Daily Mail- “OUR VIEW: Mr. Cole and Mr. Church, together again”
Register Star- “Cole, Church to Meet in the Abstract”
Hyperallergic “Art Movements”
New York Observer- “Contemporary Artists Head North to Pay Homage to the Hudson Valley’s Artistic Past” (AP)
New Jersey Herald- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Troy Record- “New York State News In Brief: Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Art Exhibit”
Saratogian- “New York State News In Brief: Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Art Exhibit” 
IMBY.com- “Landmark Contemporary Art Exhibition Opening May 2015?
Yahoo! News- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
ABC News- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
The Washington Post- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Newsday- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Minneapolis Star Tribune- “2 New York historic sites linked to Hudson River School hosting contemporary art exhibit” (AP)
Tampa Tribune- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
San Antonio Express News- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
The Washington Times- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Explore-Hudson-Valley.com AP Story from Yahoo! News
Explore-Hudson-Valley.com AP Story from New York Observer
Daily Freeman- “Thomas Cole, Olana historic sites to host contemporary art exhibit” (AP)
Glens Falls Post-Star “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
The Daily Star (Oneonta)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Winnipeg Free Press- “2 New York historic sites linked to Hudson River School hosting contemporary art exhibit” (AP)
Times Herald-Record (Middletown)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Beaumont (TX) Enterprise- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Lewiston Morning Tribune (ID)- “Art going on exhibit at Hudson Valley sites” (AP)
WRAL-TV (Raleigh-Durham)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
CBS6-TV (Albany, NY)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
WHAM-TV (Rochester, NY)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
WNYT-TV (Albany, NY)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
WTEN-TV News 10 (Albany, NY)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
WISH-TV (Indianapolis, IN)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Albany Times Union- “Cole, Church sites open doors: Contemporary artists join 19th century works for project”
Albany Times Union – Online “Chuck Close, Maya Lin, others in upcoming exhibit crossing the Hudson”

2014

Exhibition coverage for Master, Mentor, Master: Thomas Cole & Frederic Church

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/nyregion/an-exhibition-on-frederic-edwin-church-and-thomas-cole-in-catskill-ny.html?_r=0

Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/articles/art-review-master-mentor-master-thomas-cole-frederic-church-1402347440#printMode

Artfix: http://www.artfixdaily.com/calendar/print/7129-thomas-cole-and-frederic-church-master-mentor-master

The Daily Mail: http://www.thedailymail.net/news/article_ec71a1a4-e239-11e3-9aa2-001a4bcf887a.html

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/nyregion/events-in-westchester-for-june-8-14-2014.html?_r=0

iloveny: http://www.iloveny.com/thebeat/post/2014/2/Master-Mentor-Master-Thomas-Cole-Frederic-Church-Exhibition-Now-on-View/7748/#.U-OAo_ldVqU

Hudson Valley Magazine: http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/Calendar/index.php/name/Thomas-Cole-Historic-Site-presents-Thomas-Cole-Frederic-Church-Master-Mentor-Master/event/12154/

WAMC: http://wamc.org/post/master-mentor-master-thomas-cole-frederic-church-thomas-cole-historic-site

About Town: http://www.abouttown.us/index.php/events-calendar/details/5134-Master-Mentor-MasterThomas-Cole–Frederic-Church

Hudson Valley Mercantile: http://www.hvmercantile.com/tag/master-mentor-master/

Almanac: http://www.hudsonvalleyalmanacweekly.com/2014/05/16/colechurch-exhibit-opens-this-sunday-with-lecture-in-hudson-reception-in-catskill/

Chronogram: https://twitter.com/Chronogram/status/456443471490863105

Chronogram: http://www.chronogram.com/hudsonvalley/thomas-cole-and-frederic-church-master-mentor-master/Content?oid=2238891

http://www.zvents.com/catskill_ny/events/show/369643183-thomas-cole-frederic-church-master-mentor-master

Great Northern Catskills: http://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/arts-culture/thomas-cole-national-historic-site

Art Museum Touring: http://www.artmuseumtouring.com/Thomas-Cole.html

Questroyal Fine Art: http://hrs-art.com/2014/02/thomas-cole-frederic-church-exhibition/

New York History Blog: http://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2014/05/12/master-mentor-master-thomas-cole-and-frederic-church/

Coco Todo: http://www.cocotodo.com/event/12686

Questroyal Fine Art: http://www.veooz.com/photos/wH8mMJB.html

Daily Voice: http://rye.dailyvoice.com/events/classes-lectures/783908/thomas-cole-frederic-church-master-mentor-master

AFA News: http://www.afanews.com/home/item/2602-%E2%80%98master-mentor-master%E2%80%99-examines-teacher-student-relationship-between-thomas-cole-and-frederic-church

June 2013

Albert Bierstadt’s Paintings Now at Thomas Cole Site

By Annette Blaugrund, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine

Albert Bierstadt! The name immediately conjures up monu­mental vistas of America’s Far West. Even in his 1902 obitu­ary, the only hint that this artist ever worked in the East was the title of one painting, On the Saco, New Hampshire. Today, as in 1902, Bierstadt is best remembered for his dramatic and atmospheric paintings of the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite, California, Wyoming, and Colorado. The focus of this article, however, is on Bierstadt’s lesser-known landscape paintings of New York and New England… Read entire article

April 2013

Hudson River Schooling

By Ralph Gardner Jr., The Wall Street Journal – April 29, 2013

My summer plans are set: I’m going to follow the Hudson River School Art Trail. Actually, it’s not quite as ambitious an undertaking as it might sound, such as traversing the full length of the Appalachian Trail which runs between Georgia and Maine. I suspect I can do it in an afternoon or two… Read entire article

April 2010

Grand Romance

By Jenna Lundin, VOGUE Magazine – April 27, 2010

Writings about New York’s celebrated Hudson River School—the nineteenth-century pioneers of American landscape painting that reached its heyday in the mid 1800’s—rarely mention the female contingent that painted alongside such famous male practitioners as Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, and Frederic Church. Now, for the first time, an exhibition opening Sunday at the Thomas Cole historic site in Catskill, New York, will focus exclusively on the women of the movement… Read entire article

Women Artists of the Hudson River School

By Jennifer Krieger, Antiques & Fine Art Magazine

The achievements of these women—who broke the bounds of imposed gender restrictions to carve out lives of accomplishment, adventure and independence—appear all the more extraordinary when one considers the historical and social context within which they took place… Read entire article

2009

Taking in the Views That Led to Great Art

By Benjamin Genocchio, The New York Times – October 9, 2009

A hiker can follow the Hudson River School Art Trail and wind up at the sites that inspired some of America’s important early works… Read entire article

River Views of the Hudson River School

By Elizabeth B. Jacks, American Art Review

Only ten years ago, Thomas Cole’s home stood in ruins. The graceful Federal style 1815 Main House was shedding roof shingles with each gust of wind, and a pool of water filled the basement after pipes had frozen and burst. … Read entire article

2006

A Natural Canvas

By Patricia Harris and David Lyon, The Boston Globe

CATSKILL, N.Y. In the typical Hudson River School painting, masses of cumulus clouds rise above an outsize vista of river and mountains. We always figured that those scenes were embellished by artistic license until we visited the painters’ haunts where the northern Catskill Mountains meet the Hudson River Valley.

As we crossed the Hudson on the high bridge at Castleton, the scenery was in our faces. We looked downriver past Rattlesnake and Coxsackie islands, and saw heaps of…Read entire article… (1303 words)

2005

The Hudson River School

By Susan Catto, The New York Times

We want to see some of the sights that the Hudson River School painted, if any of those places still exist. Can you suggest an itinerary, book or pamphlet that would guide us? Read entire article

Found underground

By Bonnie Langston, Daily Freeman – January 21, 2005

The next Sunday salon at the Catskill home of Thomas Cole, founder of the famed 19th-century Hudson River School of painting, will be led by a man who learned of the artist a relatively short time ago and in a rather unusual venue – a New York City subway stop. Read entire article

2004

Restored studio paints a life

By Timothy Cahill, Times Union – September 19, 2004

“Do you know that I have got a new painting-room?” wrote Thomas Cole to fellow painter Asher B. Durand near the end of 1839. “It answers pretty well … and being removed from the noise and bustle of the house, is really charming.” Read entire article

Inside the artist’s studio: Cole’s work space being restored

By Jonathan Ment, Daily Freeman – September 12, 2004

An old barn behind the Thomas Cole house on Spring Street in Catskill has been an antiques shop, an apartment house and, yes, a residence for animals. Read entire article

An American Virtuoso of Urgent visions

Timothy Cahill, Times Union – August 15, 2004

“To walk with nature as a poet,” wrote Thomas Cole, “is the necessary condition of a perfect artist.” Read entire article

Cole’s 19th-century art studio getting a facelift

Fred Johnsen, Daily Freeman – March 6, 2004

Thomas Edison had Menlo Park, Theodore Roosevelt had Sagamore Hill, and within these places were “inner sanctums.” For Edison his laboratory, for Roosevelt his trophy room. Read entire article

rootNews – Selected Highlights

Join the Campaign for the New Studio

For over a decade, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site has been the place for inspiration and scholarship on the birth of America’s first major art movement. Through exhibitions, lectures, special events and tours of the historic buildings and grounds, the Hudson River School has been brought to life.

“I am now sitting in my New Studio which is about completed though the walls are not quite dry…”  

Thomas Cole, December 1846

At the heart of the organization are the 19th century spaces where Thomas Cole made history: the 1815 Main House, the 1839 Old Studio, and the gardens and views that surround them. One critical piece, however, had been missing for the last forty years – Thomas Cole’s New Studio.

Built in 1846 according to Thomas Cole’s own design, the building stood a few hundred yards from Cole’s home at Cedar Grove for 125 years. Tragically, it was torn down in 1973 after falling into disrepair. However, we joyfully announce that the New Studio has been rebuilt and constructed in May of 2016. We’ve raised 97% of our $1.6 million campaign goal. For a behind-the-scenes look into the reconstruction process visit Reconstructing Thomas Cole’s New Studio. 

Make Your Contribution Today


THANK YOU TO THE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE  NEW STUDIO CAMPAIGN

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the people who have already contributed to this historic campaign. This list is updated periodically; please do let us know if you see anything that needs correcting: info@thomascole.org.

$500,000 and up

Empire State Development/I LOVE NY

 

$100,000 to $499,000

Raymond Beecher

Lisa Fox Martin & Dick May

The May Family Foundation

 

$50,000 to $99,000

Kathy Klingenstein & Robert Miller

Nina Matis & Alan Gosule

Anne Miller & Stuart Breslow

Richard Sharp

 

$25,000 to $49,000

Robert Appel

Marianne Lockwood & David Bury

Betsy Scott & Alfred Scott

Warner Shook & Frank Swim

 

$10,000 to $24,000

Asli & Evren Ay

David Barnes &  Jill Taylor

The Bay and Paul Foundations, Inc.

Matthew & Maria Brown

The Enoch Foundation

Barry & Gloria Garfinkel

Michel Goldberg & Frances Spark

Hudson River Foundation

Johnnie Moore & Ashton Hawkins

Maynard & Kay Toll

Evelyn D. Trebilcock & Douglas Hammond

Alice Walton

 

$5,000 to $9,999

Peter Bakal

Valerie Balint & Brock Ganeles

Gary DiMauro Real Estate, Inc.

David & Mary Forer

Linda & Tom Gentalen

David & Laura Grey

Jean Hamilton & Richard McCarthy

Hudson River Bank & Trust Foundation

James G. & Purcell Palmer Foundation

Loring G. & Anne Pratt

Questroyal Fine Art

Stephen Shadley

Peter Spears & Brian Swardstrom

Hudson Talbott & Jay Lesenger

Sybil & Richard Tannenbaum

Wyeth Foundation for American Art

 

$1,000 to $4,999

The Barker Welfare Foundation

Mark Caldwell & James O’Shea

Stephen & Jacqueline Dunn

Charles & Kristin Gamble Flood

Ginnie Gardiner & Jon Phillips

Thomas & Di-Anne Gibson

Hudson River Valley Greenway

Peter Jung

Meredith Kane

Martin & Veronica Kosich

Richard & Elizabeth Mason

Patti Matheney & Michael Schrom

Jane W. Nuhn Trust

Richard & Kimberly Rappleyea

Barbara Rivette

Nancy Ursprung

Wheelock Whitney & Sandro Cagnin

 

Up to $999

J. Winthrop Aldrich & Ms. Tracie Rozhon

Alexandra Anderson

Gilbert S. & Mary Ann Bagnell

Richard & Carleen Baright

Eric & Katherine Baumgartner

Gregg Berninger

Annette & Stanley Blaugrund

Peter Buffington

Nicholas Bulzacchelli

Robert & Joan Carl

Eileen Charbonneau & Edward C. Gullo

Eliza Childs

Owen Davidson & Mark Prezorski

Thomas DePietro & Dorothy Heyl

Gerald & Dian Fausel

Carrie Feder & Mr. Randall Evans

Marshall Field

Peter Finger

MaryEllen Gallagher

Theron & Lisa Gunderman

Barbara Hancock

Delmar D. Hendricks

Charles D. Hewett, Jr. & Charles E. Olbricht

Joseph & Mary Pesez Kames

Patricia & John Kay

Carol Kohan

Richard & Elizabeth Livingston

Kenneth W. & Janet Maddox

Ronnie McCue

Ellen McKeon

Ronald G. Peters & Johna Peachin

Janis Pforsich & Larry Gillaspie

Antonella Preve

Irwin & Susan Richman

Keith & Kathy Rubin

Philip & Bunny Savino

Alan Wallach

George Ward

Professor John Wilmerding

Zukowski-Diamond Foundation

rootJoin the Campaign for the New Studio

The Cole Fellowship Program

 

Cole Fellowship 2024-2025 | Call for Applicants

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site (TCNHS) is now reviewing applications for the Cole fellowship, a one-year, residential fellowship at the Thomas Cole National Historic site. Cole Fellows participate in the research and interpretation of the work, home, and studios of the artist, Thomas Cole (1801 – 1848). This includes conducting new primary research and working with staff on museum wide offerings spanning exhibitions and collections to educational programs, audience engagement, and more.

Four candidates will be invited to join the Site from June 5, 2024 – May 27, 2025. Through a combination of research, interpretation, and hands-on projects, Fellows conduct significant research and gain professional museum experience. Selected candidates are provided the opportunity to:

  • Conduct in-depth primary research that leads to a major project, presentation, and paper based on their work.
  • Work closely with the Chief Curator and TCNHS staff on projects that may include collection care and research, exhibitions, educational programs, and other special events.
  • Attend an intensive one-week seminar with leading Cole scholar and professor, Dr. Alan Wallach.
  • Receive public speaking coaching and participate in ongoing sessions with award-winning Broadway director and TCNHS
    Board Member, Warner Shook.
  • Guide and interact with visitors at the site and have full engagement with interpretive programming.
  • Participate in site-wide activities and staff meetings to learn about the structural, strategic, and creative decisions involved
    in the day-to-day operations of a historic artists’ house and museum.
  • Attend monthly field trips and site visits to museums and cultural venues.
  • Benefit from professional development including resume review and next step career planning based on individual goals.

Additional Compensation: Free on-site housing is provided in the fully furnished Fellow’s House, which includes a private bedroom, shared kitchen, living room, 2 baths, yard, and utilities (electric, water, heat, internet, and garbage removal). Additionally, Fellows receive a monthly stipend of $700.

Qualifications: TCNHS seeks self-motivated recent graduates, graduating college seniors, and graduate students who have
expressed a commitment to pursue careers in art, history, museums, material culture, decorative arts, collection and exhibition
management, and/or education. Applicants should be flexible, collaborative, organized, energetic, have a passion for art and ideas,
and an affinity for working with the public. A car is helpful, but not required. Participation in the entire program is required. Work
week is Wednesday-Sunday when open to the public; Monday-Friday during winter hours.

APPLICATIONS will be accepted until February 6, 2024, with priority given to applications received by JANUARY 24, 2024Applications must include:

  • Brief letter of introduction describing your interest in the Fellowship, relevant experience, and career goals
  • Resume
  • References – Include the names and full contact information for 3 people (professors, teachers, employers only)
  • Writing sample (2 to 4 pages MAX please)

Please label each PDF file/s with your name and content, for example “Sally_Green_Resume”

Please EMAIL your application materials (PDF files only) to Kate Menconeri, Chief Curator | Director of Curatorial Affairs, Contemporary Art, and Fellowshipkmenconeri@thomascole.org 

For questions, email kmenconeri@thomascole.org. For general information about Thomas Cole National Historic Site, upcoming programming and exhibitions, and future events, please visit: www.thomascole.org


Cole Fellow Projects have included curating the first solo exhibition of Emily Cole; expansion and redesign of the Hudson River
Art Trail; publishing the first book dedicated to the Cole Site Collections, launching new educational programs, and more. This has
included conducting new research for W/Hole History and being a part of the planning team working now to rethink the histories of
land and the people who lived and labored at the Site. Fellows focused on curatorial practices have worked closely with the TCNHS
curatorial team to realize contemporary and art historical exhibitions and publications, including the nationally touring exhibitions
Women Reframe American Landscape; Cross Pollination: Heade, Cole, Church, and Our Contemporary Moment; as well as Picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole’s Trans-Atlantic Inheritance; and contemporary art installations sited in the historic artists home and studio such as Kiki Smith: From the Creek, Shi Gourui: Ab/Sense-Pre/Sense, Marc Swanson: A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco, and Mark Dion + Dana Sherwood’s Pollinator Pavilion. Fellows have also edited publications and transcribed original writing by Thomas Cole, proposed and written new tours, and curated projects from the collection, including reinstalling collections in Mind Upon Nature: Thomas Cole’s Creative Process.

Primary Research by Year

2023:

2021-2022:

2020:

2019:

2017-2018:

2016:

  • All Time is Now: Developing Audience Engagement Through Exhibitions and New Media – Leila Farrer,
  • Empowering Children: The Historical and Cultural Legacy of Thomas Cole and Catskill – Kathleen Brousseau
  • “Nature is a sovereign remedy”: Expanding the Hudson River School Art Trail – Casey Monroe
  • Design, Interaction, and the Visitor Experience at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site – Claire Pohl

2015:

  • The Appreciation of ‘Pure, Simple Nature’: Friends and Patrons of Thomas Cole – Amy LeFebvre
  • Traveling Through Time with Thomas Cole: Creating an Engaging Web Experience – Elena Ostock
  • The Social Importance of Art: Imagining Thomas Cole’s East Parlor – Keith Lebel

2014:

  • Catskill Calling: Thomas Cole’s 1825 Hudson River Journey – Rita Carr
  • Making Commitments: Revisiting the letters, poems, and journals of Thomas Cole, 1835-1836 – Kathryn O’Dwyer
  • Then and Now: Tracing the Histories of Thomas Cole’s Paintings – Jennifer Morales

2013:

  • A Worthy Pupil: The Relationship between Thomas Cole and his most celebrated student, Frederic Edwin Church – Kelsey Hoffman
  • In their Own Words: Central Themes in Thomas Cole’s Art and Writing and Their Continued Relevance Today – Catherine Popovici
  • “An Alter [sic] onto Mammon” – Thomas Cole, Industrialization, and Reverent Editing – Anne Rich

2012:

  • Thomas Cole’s Paintings at Home: 1836-1848 – Margot Mache
  • Thomas Cole: Art & Tourism in the 1820s – Amara McMann
  • From Passion to Painting: Thomas Cole & the Visual Representations of his Intellectual World – Madeline Turner

Words from a few of our Fellows:

The Cole Fellowship was a transformative experience. It enriched my interest and ability in conducting research, gave me the space to openly discuss new ideas, and to address and reintroduce the lives of people whose histories were once lesser known, while encouraging us to be critical of the histories that canonically receive the most amount of spotlight.

Beth Wynne, 2023

Working as a Cole Fellow this past year has been a rich and highly rewarding experience. I have gained direct experience in a variety of museum specialties, from curatorial work to interpretation, and collaborated with art historians, artists, museum professionals, and scholars who have expanded my thinking about art spaces today.

Kristin Marchetti, 2023

The Cole Fellowship opened my eyes to the world of American Art and how a museum can highlight the continued relevancy of an historic art movement in the present-day. As a fellow, I had the opportunity to partake in every aspect of the historic site’s operations while also making my own contribution to the organization’s goals with my research project. There is no other opportunity like this for recent undergraduates and its impact on my life and career will be long-lasting.  

Marissa Hamm, 2020

The Thomas Cole Fellowship provides the infrastructure for recent graduates to grow into future leaders and thinkers. It gives a unique space to condense years of learning into action—to develop unique ideas about the future of museums, the environment, and art history. From working on a year-long research project to giving multiple tours to diverse audiences, one leaves the program with the ability to scale challenges across personal and professional silos. With a dynamic staff and loving community, I cannot recommend the Thomas Cole Fellowship enough.

Hampton Smith, 2020

Being able to devote so much of my attention towards education was tremendously useful; the fellowship is so well designed in that you can highly specialize in an area of interest while never feeling boxed in. [ … ] I was regularly awed and honored by how much responsibility I was entrusted with during my time as a fellow, but not only that, how much support I was given to carry out these responsibilities. … This meant, for example, that I was able to go into classrooms and present to students on Thomas Cole, and while I always had support, I was given the freedom to lead these workshops independently. This also meant I was included in important meetings and decision-making, and got to do much of that important decision-making myself. This was so critical and transformative. I’ve been afforded so much confidence from both the responsibility and support this fellowship offered

Madeline Conley, 2018

Working at the Cole site was an amazing opportunity because I was able to be a part of a wide variety of projects across disciplines—public programming, exhibition design, curation, and marketing. I got to design my own experience as I entered the Fellowship, following my own interests and influencing the creative direction of the museum. The professional development, mentorship, and site visits provided structure, but I felt free to explore my own passion for history and public engagement. Plus, I learned a ton about Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School directly from the experts and had the history at my fingertips everyday.

Leila Farrer, 2016

The most rewarding aspect of being a Thomas Cole research fellow is being able to wear many different hats. As Cole Fellow, you are not confined to one department of a museum, but get to play a pivotal role in all the different facets of the Site

Kathleen Brousseau, 2016

For me, it was my personal connection to Thomas Cole. To know that I was working in his home, living in his backyard, and watching the sunset from his porch was a priceless feeling—a feeling I had longed for since I first discovered the Hudson River School and the work of Thomas Cole.

Casey Monroe, 2016

The success of my endeavors at the Cole Site were due in part to the structure of the Fellowship that required contributions to a number of diverse independent and cooperative projects. …As a Cole fellow I executed research and exhibitions from which I derived pride and a higher level of professionalism. Guiding house tours and presenting my research formally elevated my public speaking skills. Participating in the Cole Fellowship is such an informative experience for anyone who is considering a career in the museum world!

Kathryn O’Dwyer, 2014

 

The Program Endowment that supports educational programs at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this the programs do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Supported in part by James & Micaela Bulich, Lisa Fox Martin and Lois & Arthur Stainman.

rootThe Cole Fellowship Program

News Archive

January 2016  

Thomas Cole as Architect Exhibit to Open at Artist’s NY Home

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, CATSKILL, N.Y. — Jan 22, 2016

The inaugural exhibit has been announced for a reconstructed building located at the upstate New York home of the founder of the Hudson River School of art.

Officials at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill say the exhibit will focus on the landscape artist’s little-known contributions to American architecture. Cole, who died in 1848, was one of the designers of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. Read entire article 

September 2015  

Over $600K Awarded to Thomas Cole Site for Interior Restoration
Artfix Daily

Periwinkle blue walls in the foyer, lavender walls in the West Parlor, a red and gold carpet with pyramids and birds-of-paradise, and hand-painted borders by Thomas Cole himself on the walls … . These are some of the elements of the original décor of the first-floor rooms of Cole’s 1815 home that will be restored as a result of two major federal grants that were recently awarded to the Thomas Cole Historic Site: $460,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities and $150,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Read entire article

July 2015  

Thomas Cole’s Art Studio to Be Recreated 
The New York Times
Eve M. Kahn

The 19th-century painter Thomas Cole built an art studio with gingerbread woodwork and Hudson River views in Catskill, N.Y., but he enjoyed it for only a year or so before his death in 1848. Some brick and wooden fragments survive from the building, which was torn down in the early 1970s, while his nearby house, known as Cedar Grove, has been preserved as the Thomas Cole National Historic Site. This summer, contractors are finishing a reproduction of Cole’s design on the studio’s original foundation, basing it on vintage photos, sketches and paintings. Read entire article

Funds secured to restore wall paintings by Thomas Cole 
WNYT

 19th century Landscape artist Thomas Cole made his home in Catskill. His homestead surrounded by the beauty of the mountain range that was the subject of much of his art. But nobody knew that inside the home, Cole surrounded himself with art as well.  At least, until they were trying to figure out the original color of the parlor. Watch video

 

Restorer unearths historic paintings hidden in home of American master 
The Washington Post
Sarah Kaplan

It was supposed to be just a quick paint job, a few days at most. But when refurbisher Matthew Mosca began chipping away at decades of old paint coating the walls in the historic home of artist Thomas Cole, he was startled to discover a tangle of delicate designs buried beneath. “You’re not going to believe this, but there’s actually hand-painted drapery and thorns on the wall here,” Read entire article

 

Unknown Thomas Cole Paintings Found at His Home
The New York Times
Nate Schweber

CATSKILL, N.Y. — Late last year, Matthew J. Mosca, a specialist in historic paint finishes, gazed up at what looked like a scrap of wallpaper. It was jutting up from an old coat of red paint covering the walls of a pantry inside the yellow-brick farmhouse where the 19th-century artist Thomas Cole displayed paintings that revolutionized American ideas about art and wilderness. But when Mr. Mosca climbed a ladder, he found it was not wallpaper, but a bold black decorative pattern Read entire article

 

Landscape Painting Discovered on Wall in Former Thomas Cole Home 

WNYT / WNYT Staff

CATSKILL, N.Y. – There’s a new historic discovery in Greene County. Imagine chipping away at paint prepping to throw a new coat on, and discovering a priceless work of art. That’s what happened at the old residence of Thomas Cole. Now, Senator Chuck Schumer is asking for about $600,000 from The National Endowment for the Humanities to get the rest of that painting uncovered and restored. Watch video

 

Also read: Thomas Cole and the Decorative Arts  

 VQR / Jean Dunbar

 

May – June 2015

‘River Crossings’ a Contemporary Art Exhibition at 2 Historic Sites of the Hudson River School 
The New York Times
Daniel Van Benthuysen

WHEN warm weather arrives, artists by the hundreds, including me, venture outside with paint boxes and portable easels…. Read entire article

Olana, Thomas Cole site team up for an artsy house party
The Albany Times Union
Amy Biancolli

When Thomas Cole and Frederic Church open their homes to a contemporary art exhibit on Sunday, the hosts will be nowhere to be seen. They did, after all, die in 1848 and 1900. But they’ll still be chatting up a storm… Read entire article

Additional Exhibition Coverage for “River Crossings”: 

The Wall Street Journal
The Rogovoy Report
ABC News: New and Now: Lilac Fests, Hudson River Art, Night Exhibit
Stephen Hannock sets the stage for “River Crossings: Contemporary Art Comes Home”
Artist Pension Trust
Word Pond Blog
The Barlow Hotel Blog
PACE Gallery-Thomas Nozkowski
River Crossings Exhibit Brings Contemporary Art to the Mid-Hudson
I Love Hudson
Jerry Gretzinger highlights his work for River Crossings 
Contemporary Exhibit Set For Thomas Cole, Olana Sites
Catskill unveils proposal for cross-Hudson shuttle
New York Times- Cedar Grove, Peabody Essex and Other Niche Museums Foray Into Contemporary Art
Spectre Arts- “Contemporary Artists Head North to Pay Homage to the Hudson Valley’s Artistic Past”
Greene County Council on the Arts
Auction Central News- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” 
On the Scene- “Olana and Thomas Cole to Host Joint Exhibition, River Crossings
New York Times- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit”
Metro Pictures Gallery- Cindy Sherman
Catskill Daily Mail- “OUR VIEW: Mr. Cole and Mr. Church, together again”
Register Star- “Cole, Church to Meet in the Abstract”
Hyperallergic “Art Movements”
New York Observer- “Contemporary Artists Head North to Pay Homage to the Hudson Valley’s Artistic Past” (AP)
New Jersey Herald- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Troy Record- “New York State News In Brief: Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Art Exhibit”
Saratogian- “New York State News In Brief: Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Art Exhibit” 
IMBY.com- “Landmark Contemporary Art Exhibition Opening May 2015?
Yahoo! News- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
ABC News- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
The Washington Post- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Newsday- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Minneapolis Star Tribune- “2 New York historic sites linked to Hudson River School hosting contemporary art exhibit” (AP)
Tampa Tribune- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
San Antonio Express News- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
The Washington Times- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Explore-Hudson-Valley.com AP Story from Yahoo! News
Explore-Hudson-Valley.com AP Story from New York Observer
Daily Freeman- “Thomas Cole, Olana historic sites to host contemporary art exhibit” (AP)
Glens Falls Post-Star “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
The Daily Star (Oneonta)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Winnipeg Free Press- “2 New York historic sites linked to Hudson River School hosting contemporary art exhibit” (AP)
Times Herald-Record (Middletown)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Beaumont (TX) Enterprise- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Lewiston Morning Tribune (ID)- “Art going on exhibit at Hudson Valley sites” (AP)
WRAL-TV (Raleigh-Durham)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
CBS6-TV (Albany, NY)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
WHAM-TV (Rochester, NY)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
WNYT-TV (Albany, NY)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
WTEN-TV News 10 (Albany, NY)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
WISH-TV (Indianapolis, IN)- “Hudson River Historic Sites Hosting Contemporary Art Exhibit” (AP)
Albany Times Union- “Cole, Church sites open doors: Contemporary artists join 19th century works for project”
Albany Times Union – Online “Chuck Close, Maya Lin, others in upcoming exhibit crossing the Hudson”

2014

Exhibition coverage for Master, Mentor, Master: Thomas Cole & Frederic Church

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/nyregion/an-exhibition-on-frederic-edwin-church-and-thomas-cole-in-catskill-ny.html?_r=0

Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/articles/art-review-master-mentor-master-thomas-cole-frederic-church-1402347440#printMode

Artfix: http://www.artfixdaily.com/calendar/print/7129-thomas-cole-and-frederic-church-master-mentor-master

The Daily Mail: http://www.thedailymail.net/news/article_ec71a1a4-e239-11e3-9aa2-001a4bcf887a.html

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/nyregion/events-in-westchester-for-june-8-14-2014.html?_r=0

iloveny: http://www.iloveny.com/thebeat/post/2014/2/Master-Mentor-Master-Thomas-Cole-Frederic-Church-Exhibition-Now-on-View/7748/#.U-OAo_ldVqU

Hudson Valley Magazine: http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/Calendar/index.php/name/Thomas-Cole-Historic-Site-presents-Thomas-Cole-Frederic-Church-Master-Mentor-Master/event/12154/

WAMC: http://wamc.org/post/master-mentor-master-thomas-cole-frederic-church-thomas-cole-historic-site

About Town: http://www.abouttown.us/index.php/events-calendar/details/5134-Master-Mentor-MasterThomas-Cole–Frederic-Church

Hudson Valley Mercantile: http://www.hvmercantile.com/tag/master-mentor-master/

Almanac: http://www.hudsonvalleyalmanacweekly.com/2014/05/16/colechurch-exhibit-opens-this-sunday-with-lecture-in-hudson-reception-in-catskill/

Chronogram: https://twitter.com/Chronogram/status/456443471490863105

http://www.chronog ram.com/hudsonvalley/thomas-cole-and-frederic-church-master-mentor-master/Content?oid=2238891

http://www.zvents.com/catskill_ny/events/show/369643183-thomas-cole-frederic-church-master-mentor-master

http://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/arts-culture/thomas-cole-national-historic-site

http://www.artmuseumtouring.com/Thomas-Cole.html

http://hrs-art.com/2014/02/thomas-cole-frederic-church-exhibition/

http://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2014/05/12/master-mentor-master-thomas-cole-and-frederic-church/

http://www.cocotodo.com/event/12686

http://www.veooz.com/photos/wH8mMJB.html

http://rye.dailyvoice.com/events/classes-lectures/783908/thomas-cole-frederic-church-master-mentor-master

http://www.afanews.com/home/item/2602-%E2%80%98master-mentor-master%E2%80%99-examines-teacher-student-relationship-between-thomas-cole-and-frederic-church

 

June 2013

Albert Bierstadt’s Paintings Now at Thomas Cole Site
Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine
Annette Blaugrund

Albert Bierstadt! The name immediately conjures up monu­mental vistas of America’s Far West. Even in his 1902 obitu­ary, the only hint that this artist ever worked in the East was the title of one painting, On the Saco, New Hampshire. Today, as in 1902, Bierstadt is best remembered for his dramatic and atmospheric paintings of the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite, California, Wyoming, and Colorado. The focus of this article, however, is on Bierstadt’s lesser-known landscape paintings of New York and New England… Read entire article

April 2013

Hudson River Schooling
The Wall Street Journal
Ralph Gardner Jr.

My summer plans are set: I’m going to follow the Hudson River School Art Trail. Actually, it’s not quite as ambitious an undertaking as it might sound, such as traversing the full length of the Appalachian Trail which runs between Georgia and Maine. I suspect I can do it in an afternoon or two… Read entire article

April 2010

People Are Talking About…
VOGUE Magazine
Jenna Lundin

Writings about New York’s celebrated Hudson River School—the nineteenth-century pioneers of American landscape painting that reached its heyday in the mid 1800’s—rarely mention the female contingent that painted alongside such famous male practitioners as Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, and Frederic Church. Now, for the first time, an exhibition opening Sunday at the Thomas Cole historic site in Catskill, New York, will focus exclusively on the women of the movement… Read entire article

April 2010

Women Artists of the Hudson River School
Antiques & Fine Art Magazine
Jennifer Krieger

The achievements of these women—who broke the bounds of imposed gender restrictions to carve out lives of accomplishment, adventure and independence—appear all the more extraordinary when one considers the historical and social context within which they took place… Read entire article

October 2009

Taking in the Views That Led to Great Art
The New York Times
Benjamin Genocchio

A hiker can follow the Hudson River School Art Trail and wind up at the sites that inspired some of America’s important early works… Read entire article

June 1, 2009

River Views of the Hudson River School
American Art Review
Elizabeth B. Jacks

Only ten years ago, Thomas Cole’s home stood in ruins. The graceful Federal style 1815 Main House was shedding roof shingles with each gust of wind, and a pool of water filled the basement after pipes had frozen and burst. … Read entire article

 

July 26, 2006

A Natural Canvas
The Boston Globe
Patricia Harris and David Lyon

CATSKILL, N.Y. In the typical Hudson River School painting, masses of cumulus clouds rise above an outsize vista of river and mountains. We always figured that those scenes were embellished by artistic license until we visited the painters’ haunts where the northern Catskill Mountains meet the Hudson River Valley.

As we crossed the Hudson on the high bridge at Castleton, the scenery was in our faces. We looked downriver past Rattlesnake and Coxsackie islands, and saw heaps of…Read entire article… (1303 words)

 

June 19, 2005

The Hudson River School
The New York Times
Susan Catto

We want to see some of the sights that the Hudson River School painted, if any of those places still exist. Can you suggest an itinerary, book or pamphlet that would guide us? Read entire article…

 

January 21, 2005

Found underground
Daily Freeman
Bonnie Langston, Freeman staff

The next Sunday salon at the Catskill home of Thomas Cole, founder of the famed 19th-century Hudson River School of painting, will be led by a man who learned of the artist a relatively short time ago and in a rather unusual venue – a New York City subway stop. Read entire article…

 

September 19, 2004

Restored studio paints a life
Times Union
Timothy Cahill

“Do you know that I have got a new painting-room?” wrote Thomas Cole to fellow painter Asher B. Durand near the end of 1839. “It answers pretty well … and being removed from the noise and bustle of the house, is really charming.” Read entire article…

 

September 12, 2004

Inside the artist’s studio: Cole’s work space being restored
Daily Freeman
Jonathan Ment, Freeman staff

An old barn behind the Thomas Cole house on Spring Street in Catskill has been an antiques shop, an apartment house and, yes, a residence for animals. Read entire article…

 

August 15, 2004

An American Virtuoso of Urgent visions
Times Union
Timothy Cahill, Staff writer

“To walk with nature as a poet,” wrote Thomas Cole, “is the necessary condition of a perfect artist.” Read entire article…

March 6, 2004

Cole’s 19th-century art studio getting a facelift
Daily Freeman
Fred Johnsen, Freeman staff

Thomas Edison had Menlo Park, Theodore Roosevelt had Sagamore Hill, and within these places were “inner sanctums.” For Edison his laboratory, for Roosevelt his trophy room. Read entire article…

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