Thomas Cole is said to be the first painter of the Hudson River School, though he didn’t actually participate in its organization. His paintings did, however, become the inspiration for later artists, such as Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Church. The School combines features of nationalism and Romanticism. That is to say, the overwhelming subject was the American landscape, from the east coast to the west. For instance, Thomas Cole, to keep with his example, portrayed the Catskills and banks along the Hudson in many of his paintings. Bierstadt, on the other hand, is known for his beautiful landscapes of Yosemite National Park.
I find that many of the painters created their works with the intent of showing the beauty of nature. With their “wishful thinking,” they chose to portray what they thought landscapes would look like had they not been settled and/or urbanized. In my opinion, the Hudson River School preserves nature, specifically American nature, in all its glory. In addition, it served a great purpose as America’s first home-grown, coherent school of art.
