1839
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
New England Scenery is a 1839 oil by Thomas Cole, a Hudson River School Movement work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
The painting shows a serene landscape with a church spire in the distance. It's a calm scene with a few trees and a sunny sky. The artist included a church to show how important religion was to the community. The church spire is a key part of the painting. It reminds us that the artist often traveled to this area to paint. You can see similar landscapes by looking up the work of artist: Thomas Cole.
Although Thomas Cole is best known for his scenes of the American wilderness, he also rendered pastoral vistas of cultivated landscapes. This work depicts New Hampshire’s White Mountains, an area that Cole traveled to and painted on numerous occasions, as did other 19th-century landscape artists. The prominent church spire at middle distance emphasizes the role of religion in agrarian society and the glow of the low sun expresses a sense of optimism for a rural America. The painting conveys an ideal that was increasingly far from reality, however, as the United States was then being…
Thomas Cole, from 1839; W.F. Ladd, New York, around 1841; Charles Baker, New York, by 1853; Samuel Nickerson, Chicago, 1876; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1900.
Boston Athenaeum, Fourteenth Exhibition of Paintings, Jun–?, 1840, cat. 35, as “Sunrise. A New England Scene.” New York City, Apollo Association, Granite Building, Eighth Exhibition, Oct. 5–Dec. ?, 1841, cat. 46, as “Landscape—New England Scenery.” New York City, Gallery of the American Art–Union, The Washington Exhibition in Aid of the New York Gallery of the Fine Arts, Mar–May 1, 1853, cat. 110. Chicago, Art–Hall, Exposition Building, The Inter–State Industrial Exposition, Sept. 7–Oct. 9, 1876, cat. 361, as “Landscape.” Chicago, Industrial Service Center, Y.W.C.A., Sept. 19, 1924–June 3,…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 – February 11, 1848) was an Anglo-American artist who founded the Hudson River School art movement.
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