Thomas Cole – Biography and Artwork of the American Painter

By / March 13, 2024

Thomas Cole was a renowned American Romantic landscape painter who founded the Hudson River School. Born in Bolton-le-Moors, England, in 1801, Cole immigrated to the US with his family in 1818. He was known for portraying American landscapes and history in his paintings.

Cole’s early works showcased his observation of nature and its beauty. His love for nature made him one of the first environmentalists of his time. His most famous works included depictions of the Catskills, White Mountains, Adirondacks, and coast of Maine.

Cole traveled to Europe multiple times to study art under European masters and draw inspiration from some of their techniques while developing his own style. In 1836 he married Maria Bartow and had a child named Theodore Alexander.

Unfortunately, Cole died at the young age of 47 in Catskill, NY; however, he left behind an incredible legacy that greatly influenced later generations’ landscape painting style. His unique vision has helped define much of what we know as American art today.

All Thomas Cole Artwork on Artchive

Artwork Name Year Medium
The Course of Empire: The Arcadian (Pastoral) State 1836 oil,canvas
The Cascatelli, Tivoli, Looking Towards Rome (View of Rome from Tivoli) 1832 oil,canvas
The Clove, Catskills (Double impact) 1827 oil,canvas
The Course of Empire: Destruction 1836 oil,canvas
The Course of Empire: The Consummation of the Empire 1836 oil,canvas
The dream of the architect 1840 oil,canvas
The Fountain, No 10 The Wounded Indian Slaking His Death Thirst 1843
The Fountain of Vaucluse 1841
The Garden of Eden 1828
The Gardens of the Van Rensselaer Manor House 1840 oil,canvas
American Lake Scene 1844 oil,canvas
An Evening in Arcadia 1843 oil,canvas
The Good Shepherd 1848 oil,canvas
The Hunter s Return 1845 oil,canvas
The Mountain Ford 1846 oil,canvas
The Notch of the White Mountains (Crawford Notch) 1839 oil,canvas
The Old Mill at Sunset 1844 oil,canvas
The Oxbow 1836 oil,canvas
The Past 1838 oil,canvas
The Pilgrim of the Cross at the End of His Journey (part of the series The Cross and the World) 1846 oil,canvas
The Pilgrim of the World at the End of His Journey (part of the series The Cross and the World) c.1847 oil,canvas
The Present 1838 oil,canvas
Angels Ministering to Christ in the Wilderness 1843 oil,canvas
An Italian Autumn 1844 oil,canvas
Arch of Nero 1846 oil,canvas
A Rocky Glen (In the Shawangunks) 1846 oil,canvas
A Tornado in the Wilderness 1835 oil,canvas
Autumn in the Catskills 1827 oil,panel
Autumn Landscape (Mount Chocorua) 1828 oil,canvas
Autumn Twilight View of Copway Peak (Mount Chocorua, New Hampshire) 1834 oil,panel
A View of the Two Lakes and Mountain House, Catskill Mountains, Morning 1844 oil,canvas
The Ruins of Taormina 1842
The Subsiding of the Waters of the Deluge 1829 oil
The Temple of Segesta with the Artist Sketching 1843 oil,canvas
The Titan`s Goblet 1833 oil,canvas
The Vale and Temple of Segeste, Sicily 1844 oil,canvas
The Vesper Hymn oil,canvas
The Voyage of Life: Childhood (detail)
The Voyage of Life: Childhood (detail)
The Voyage of Life: Childhood (detail) 1839 - 1840 oil,canvas
The Pic-Nic 1846 oil,canvas
A Wild Scene 1831 - 1832 oil,canvas
Brock`s-Monument 1850 oil,canvas
Cabin in the Woods, North Conway, New Hampshire oil,canvas
Campagna di Roma (study for Aqueduct near Rome) 1832 oil,canvas
Catskill Landscape 1846 oil,canvas
Catskill Mountain House, The Four Elements 1843 - 1844 oil,canvas
Catskill Scenery 1833 oil,canvas
Corway Peak, New Hamshire 1844 oil,canvas
Cross at Sunset 1848 oil,canvas
Daniel Boone Sitting at the Door of His Cabin on the Great Osage Lake 1826 oil,canvas
The Voyage of Life: Childhood 1842 oil,canvas
The Voyage of Life: Manhood (detail)
The Voyage of Life: Manhood (detail)
The Voyage of Life: Manhood 1840 oil,canvas
The Voyage of Life: Manhood 1840
The Voyage of Life: Old Age (detail)
The Voyage of Life: Old Age (detail)
The Mountain Ford 1842 oil,canvas
The Voyage of Life: Youth 1842 oil,canvas
Tree in the Catskills 1844 oil,canvas
View on Lake Winnipiseogee 1828 oil
Distant View of Niagara Falls 1830 oil,canvas
Dream of Arcadia c.1838; United States
Expulsion from the Garden of Eden 1827 - 1828 oil,canvas
Expulsion. Moon and Firelight c.1828 oil,canvas
Falls at Catskill c.1828 - 1829
Genesee Scenery 1847 oil,canvas
Home in the Woods 1847 oil,canvas
Il Penseroso 1845 oil,canvas
Indian at Sunset 1845 - 1847 oil,canvas
Valley of the Vaucluse 1841 oil,canvas
View Across Frenchman`s Bay from Mount Desert Island, After a Squall 1845 oil,canvas
View in the White Mountains 1827 oil,canvas
View of Boston oil,canvas
View of Florence from San Miniato 1837 oil,canvas
View of Mount Etna from Taormina 1837 oil,canvas
View of L`Esperance on the Schoharie River 1826 - 1828 oil,canvas
View of Monte Video Seat of Daniel Wadsworth 1828 oil,panel
View of Mount Etna 1844 oil,panel
View of the Arno 1838 oil,canvas
Indian Pass Tahawus 1847 oil,canvas
Indian Sacrifice 1827 oil,canvas
Indians Viewing Landscape oil,panel
Interior of the Colosseum, Rome 1832 oil,canvas
Italian Coast Scene with Ruined Tower 1838
Italian Scene Composition 1833 oil,canvas
Kaaterskill Falls 1826 oil,canvas
Lake with Dead Trees (Catskill) 1825 oil,canvas
L Allegro (Italian Sunset) 1845 oil,canvas
Landscape 1845 oil,canvas
View of the Thames oil
View on the Schoharie 1826 oil,canvas
Landscape (American Lake in Summer) oil,canvas
Landscape Composition. St John in the Wilderness 1827 oil,canvas
Landscape, the Seat of Mr Featherstonhaugh in the Distance 1826
Landscape with Dead Tree 1828 oil,canvas
Landscape with Figures A Scene from The Last of the Mohicans 1826 oil,panel
Landscape with Tower (from McGuire Scrapbook)
Moonlight 1834 oil,canvas
Morning Mist Rising In Plymouth, New Hampshire 1830 oil,canvas
Mount Aetna from Taormina 1842 oil,canvas
Mount Aetna from Taormina 1843 oil,canvas
Mountain Sunrise 1826 oil,panel
Mount Chocorua, New Hampshire 1827 oil,panel
New England Scenery 1839
Peace at Sunset (Evening in the White Mountains) oil,canvas
Pen and pencil drawing
Portage Falls on the Genesee 1839 oil,canvas
Prometheus Bound 1846 - 1847 oil,canvas
River in the Catskills 1843 oil,canvas
Roman Campagna 1843 oil,canvas
Romantic Landscape with Ruined Tower 1832 - 1836 oil
Ruined Castle and River c.1832 oil,canvas
Scene From Manfred 1833 oil,canvas
Scene from 'The Last of the Mohicans', by James Fenimore Cooper 1827 oil,canvas
Scene from The Last of the Mohicans Cora Kneeling at the Feet of Tanemund 1827 oil,canvas
Schroon Lake 1840 oil,canvas
Self-Portrait 1836 oil,canvas
Sketch for "Dream of Arcadia" 1838 oil,canvas
Sketch for The Oxbow 1836
Study for Dream of Arcadia 1838 oil,panel
Study for The Cross and the World 1846 - 1847 oil,panel
Study for The Pilgrim of the Cross at the End of His Journey 1846 oil,canvas
Aqueduct near Rome 1832 oil
Study for The Pilgrim of the World on His Journey 1846 - 1848 oil,canvas
Frenchman's Bay, Mt. Desert Island 1844
Study for Two Youths Enter Upon a Pilgrimage 1846 - 1848 oil,canvas
Summer Twilight 1827 oil,canvas
Summer Twilight. A Recollection of a Scene in New England 1834
Sunny Morning on the Hudson River 1827 oil,panel
Sunrise in the Catskill Mountains 1826 oil,canvas
Sunset of the Arno 1837 oil,canvas
The Voyage Of Life: Youth 1842 Oil On Canvas
Genesee Scenery 1847 Oil On Canvas
The Voyage Of Life: Childhood 1842 Oil On Canvas
Mount Aetna From Taormina 1844 Oil On Canvas
Falls of Kaaterskill 1826 Oil on Canvas
The Clove, Catskills c. 1827 Oil on Canvas
View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm (The Oxbow) 1836 Oil on Canvas
View on the Catskill - Early Autumn 1837 Oil on Canvas
Schroon Mountain, Adirondacks 1838 Oil on Canvas
The Voyage of Life Old Age 1842 Oil on Canvas
The Course of Empire Desolation 1836 Oil on Canvas
The Course of Empire The Savage State 1834 Oil on Canvas
The Departure 1838 Oil on Canvas
The Return 1838 Oil on Canvas

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