Thomas Cole

(American, 1801–1848)

Room Paintings holds 23 paintings by Thomas Cole, from the National Gallery of Art, The Met, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Cleveland Museum of Art. They date from 1826 to 1846. We file most of them under Hudson River School, and some under Romanticism. The most common subjects are landscapes, mountains and skies and weather. 20 of them suit a room in our lists, most often the living room and guest room.

Styles

Hudson River School 23
Romanticism 12

Rooms

Museums

The 23 paintings

View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, Thomas Cole, 1836, oil on canvas

Thomas Cole View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, 1836 The Met

Painting of a vast autumn scene with two very small figures in Indigenous clothing standing on a cliff overlooking a massive waterfall in the distance.

Thomas Cole Distant View of Niagara Falls, 1830 Art Institute of Chicago

View of Florence, Thomas Cole, 1837, oil on canvas

Thomas Cole View of Florence, 1837 Cleveland Museum of Art

View of Schroon Mountain, Essex County, New York, After a Storm, Thomas Cole, 1838, oil on canvas

Thomas Cole View of Schroon Mountain, Essex County, New York, After a Storm, 1838 Cleveland Museum of Art

The Mountain Ford, Thomas Cole, 1846, oil on canvas

Thomas Cole The Mountain Ford, 1846 The Met

A View near Tivoli (Morning), Thomas Cole, 1832, oil on canvas

Thomas Cole A View near Tivoli (Morning), 1832 The Met

View on the Catskill—Early Autumn, Thomas Cole, 1836–37, oil on canvas

Thomas Cole View on the Catskill—Early Autumn, 1836–37 The Met

Sketch for View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm (The Oxbow), Thomas Cole, 1836, oil and pencil on composition board

Thomas Cole Sketch for View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm (The Oxbow), 1836 The Met

Honey-gold sunlight from low along the horizon to our left falls across the copper and bronze-colored canopies of trees that frame our view of a stone church with stained glass windows and ornate spires in this horizontal landscape…

Thomas Cole The Return, 1837 National Gallery of Art

In a verdant green landscape, a stone castle sits on a tree-lined hill in the distance in front of a high, craggy mountain peak while eighteen armored knights ride toward us along a bridge and path in this horizontal painting.

Thomas Cole The Departure, 1837 National Gallery of Art

Two thick, twisting, splintered tree trunks with broken branches stripped of leaves are set against a dark, wooded landscape beneath a nearly black sky in this horizontal landscape painting.

Thomas Cole Tornado in an American Forest, 1831 National Gallery of Art

We look across a wide, low clearing at a mountain rising beyond rocky hills, which are mostly covered in pines and blazing red and orange autumn trees, in this horizontal landscape painting.

Thomas Cole A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountains (Crawford Notch), 1839 National Gallery of Art

Hulking mountains are mostly backlit against a watery blue sky edged with shell pink along the horizon, which comes about two-thirds of the way up this horizontal landscape painting.

Thomas Cole Sunrise in the Catskills, 1826 National Gallery of Art

We look across a rocky, grass-covered promontory at a crumbling, round brick tower overlooking topaz-blue water in this horizontal landscape painting.

Thomas Cole Italian Coast Scene with Ruined Tower, 1838 National Gallery of Art

Clouds, Thomas Cole, ca. 1838, oil on paper laid down on canvas

Thomas Cole Clouds, ca. 1838 The Met

This painting depicts a vast landscape with a horizon line in the lower third of the painting. A range of dark brown and purple mountains or hills stretches across the width of the image.

Thomas Cole Study for "Catskill Creek", c. 1844/1845 National Gallery of Art

New England Scenery, Thomas Cole, 1839, oil on canvas

Thomas Cole New England Scenery, 1839 Art Institute of Chicago

The Titan's Goblet, Thomas Cole, 1833, oil on canvas

Thomas Cole The Titan's Goblet, 1833 The Met

This drawing shows the faint outline of a domed building. The representation is minimalistic, with few details of the building shown besides the dome and vertical lines that might suggest columns.

Thomas Cole Sketch for Ohio State Capitol Design, c. 1838 National Gallery of Art

Near a verdant riverbank against soaring, hazy cliffs, a nude, chubby baby sits in a golden boat on a bed of pink and white flowers in this horizontal painting.

Thomas Cole The Voyage of Life: Childhood, 1842 National Gallery of Art

A young man sets out in a golden boat on a river that winds from the bottom right corner of this horizontal painting across a lush landscape and into the distance before disappearing beyond two rocky outcroppings far off to our right.

Thomas Cole The Voyage of Life: Youth, 1842 National Gallery of Art

A man looks up as he kneels with his hands clasped in prayer in a small golden boat on a river that rushes toward craggy rocks in this horizontal landscape painting.

Thomas Cole The Voyage of Life: Manhood, 1842 National Gallery of Art

A balding, older man sits in a golden boat guided by a winged angel away from craggy rocks to calm waters, toward a shaft of light piercing a billowing bank of clouds in this horizontal landscape painting.

Thomas Cole The Voyage of Life: Old Age, 1842 National Gallery of Art