Happening Now
Grounds Open for Free Every Day
Private Guide Tours
Book a Private Guide to take you and your guests through the historic home.
First Fridays Catskill
Fri, Apr 4
Find us at Catskill’s First Fridays on Main Street!
April Sunday Salon
The 2025 Cole Fellows’ Presentations
Sun, Apr 6
Be the first to hear new discoveries from the Class of 2025 Cole Fellows: Frances Baker-Tucker, Cait Gurley, and Elizabeth Vazquez. Join a discussion of their year-long research projects at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site.
Arbor Day and Earth Day Celebration
Sun, Apr 27 at 2–4 pm
Join us for a celebration of Arbor Day and Earth Day with local vendors from The Forest Exchange, Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Catskill Tree Council, with a ticketed walking tour of the grounds and gardens with 2025 Cole Fellow Elizabeth at 2 pm.
First Fridays Catskill
Fri, May 2
Find us at Catskill’s First Fridays on Main Street!
EMILY COLE
Ceramics, Flora & Contemporary Responses
May 3-Nov 2, 2025
A new exhibition placing the art of Emily Cole (1843-1913), daughter of Thomas Cole, into conversation with eight internationally-celebrated contemporary artists.
Opening Reception
EMILY COLE: Ceramics, Flora & Contemporary Responses
Sat, May 3 | 4-6 PM
All are welcome, but we hope you will consider a membership to support our work if you are able to.
“Mind Upon Nature”
Thomas Cole’s Creative Process
Ongoing
A new exhibition featuring original paintings and sketches by Thomas Cole alongside the artist’s writings, collections, books, and materials used to realize his work.
Thomas Cole Paintings on View
Spectacular original paintings by Thomas Cole are on view in the artist’s home this season.
China Painting with Cone Zero Ceramics
Sat, May 10
Join Cone Zero Ceramics for this 2-hour workshop to learn how to paint floral designs onto ceramic plates like artist Emily Cole (1843–1913), “Catskill’s China Painter.”
Tickets Coming Soon
Needle-Felting with Grey Fox Felting
Sat, Jun 14
Needle-felt your own meadow with Grey Fox Felting, inspired by the art of Emily Cole.
Tickets Coming Soon
The Summer Party
Sat, Jun 28
At the Cole Site
Botanical Still-Life Painting with Museum Educators
Sat, Jul 12
Join us for plein-air still-life painting of flowers at the historic site, inspired by the artwork of botanical artist Emily Cole.
Tickets Coming Soon
Natural Plants Dyes with Museum Educators
Sat, Aug 9
Learn how to create dyes from natural materials found on the grounds and in the gardens at the historic site.
Tickets Coming Soon
China Painting with Cone Zero Ceramics
Sat, Sept 13
Join Cone Zero Ceramics for this 2-hour workshop to learn how to paint floral designs onto ceramic plates like artist Emily Cole (1843–1913), “Catskill’s China Painter.”
Tickets Coming Soon
The Scholars’ Dinner
Mon, Oct 27
Join us for cocktails and dinner at the Century Association in New York City.
Tickets Coming Soon
Needle-Felting with Grey Fox Felting
Sat, Nov 8
Needle-felt your own holiday design with Grey Fox Felting.
Tickets Coming Soon
Digital Immersive Experiences
Discover digital immersive experiences throughout the authentic historic interiors of the artist’s home. Experiences include paintings that come to life, audio soundscapes, letters that appear on desks and 270-degree floor-to-ceiling projections.
Collection Highlights
Browse our online Collection Highlights, a selection from over six hundred objects and two research archives. Many collection items are on view throughout the Cole Site interiors, in historic rooms, as well as within the rotating exhibition Mind Upon Nature: Thomas Cole’s Creative Process.
Digital Guide to the Museum
Explore the Site with a new, free digital guide featuring photos, videos, and audio from world-renowned contemporary artists and curators. The free guide was created as a part of Bloomberg Connects, the arts and cultural app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Hudson River School Art Trail
Step into a landscape painting with our program, the Hudson River School Art Trail, which provides maps and directions to visit the places in nature that Thomas Cole and other Hudson River School artists painted.
Walk along Catskill Creek
Visit the Mawignack Preserve – Cole’s favorite walking spot – just down the road and discover new outdoor interpretation organized by the Greene Land Trust in partnership with the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Greene County Historical Society, Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation, and Scenic Hudson.
Visit Cole’s Gravesite
The gravestones of Thomas Cole, his wife Maria Bartow, and their family are located in the Catskill Village Cemetery, just down the street and walkable from the historic site.
Hudson River Skywalk
See America’s first canvas with a new scenic walkway connecting the Thomas Cole Site with Frederic Church’s Olana across the Hudson River.
Each year, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site presents special exhibitions of historic and contemporary art that debut here and travel the country. Browse past exhibitions.
What other art will you see on a visit? Browse Thomas Cole paintings on view and Collection Highlights.
The Thomas Cole Site programs and operations are supported by the National Park Service, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, Enoch Foundation, The Educational Foundation of America, The KHR McNeely Family Foundation, Kevin, Rosemary, and Hannah Rose McNeely, Brown Foundation, The Cranshaw Corporation, The Estate of James T. Lewis IV, Tianaderrah Foundation, and the Kindred Spirits Society of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site.
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.
