Hudson River School Paintings

Grand American wilderness, from the Catskills to the Rockies, painted with a sense of wonder.

1825–1880s. 124 paintings here, dated 1826 to 1890, with works by John Frederick Kensett, Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt and Jasper Francis Cropsey. They suit the living room, guest room and bedroom most often.

Showing 1 to 48 of 124 paintings

Twilight in the Wilderness, Frederic Edwin Church, 1860, oil on canvas

Frederic Edwin Church Twilight in the Wilderness, 1860 Cleveland Museum of Art

Heart of the Andes, Frederic Edwin Church, 1859, oil on canvas

Frederic Edwin Church Heart of the Andes, 1859 The Met

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

Ecuadorian landscape with people, palm trees, waterfall, and volcano in background.

Frederic Edwin Church View of Cotopaxi, 1857 Art Institute of Chicago

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

The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, Albert Bierstadt, 1863, oil on canvas

Albert Bierstadt The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, 1863 The Met

Painting of a small stream in the middle of the woods. In the center of the painting, there is a small waterfall over a large boulder.

Albert Bierstadt Mountain Brook, 1863 Art Institute of Chicago

Lake George, John Frederick Kensett, 1869, oil on canvas

John Frederick Kensett Lake George, 1869 The Met

Mount Vesuvius at Midnight, Albert Bierstadt, 1868, oil on canvas

Albert Bierstadt Mount Vesuvius at Midnight, 1868 Cleveland Museum of Art

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

Canadian Rockies (Lake Louise), Albert Bierstadt, ca. 1889, oil on paper mounted to board

Albert Bierstadt Canadian Rockies (Lake Louise), ca. 1889 The Met

Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Albert Bierstadt, 1866, oil on canvas

Albert Bierstadt Merced River, Yosemite Valley, 1866 The Met

Mountain Scene, Albert Bierstadt, 1880–90, oil on paper

Albert Bierstadt Mountain Scene, 1880–90 The Met

The Aegean Sea, Frederic Edwin Church, ca. 1877, oil on canvas

Frederic Edwin Church The Aegean Sea, ca. 1877 The Met

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

A band of indigenous Americans ride horses toward and through a herd of buffalo, which spreads along a river that winds through plains to mountains in the deep distance in this horizontal landscape painting.

Albert Bierstadt The Last of the Buffalo, 1888-1889 National Gallery of Art

Newport Mountain, Mount Desert, Frederic Edwin Church, 1851, oil on canvas

Frederic Edwin Church Newport Mountain, Mount Desert, 1851 National Gallery of Art

The top three-quarters of this horizontal landscape painting is filled with roiling, deeply shadowed clouds that tower over a line of buffalo crossing a grassy meadow below.

Albert Bierstadt Buffalo Trail: The Impending Storm, 1869 National Gallery of Art

We look across the gleaming, forest-green surface of a lake at the foot of tall, jagged mountains in this horizontal landscape painting.

Albert Bierstadt Mount Corcoran, c. 1876-1877 National Gallery of Art

We hover over the bottle-green surface of a river as it rushes toward a horseshoe-shaped waterfall that curves away from us in this horizontal landscape painting.

Frederic Edwin Church Niagara, 1857 National Gallery of Art

We look across a palm-tree lined river winding into the distance before a monumental, snow-covered mountain at the center of the composition in this horizontal landscape.

Frederic Edwin Church Tamaca Palms, 1854 National Gallery of Art

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

From a little above a dirt road, we look past a grove of trees to a broad plain and a lake at the foot of towering, hazy mountains in this horizontal landscape painting.

Albert Bierstadt Lake Lucerne, 1858 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

Fog off Mount Desert, Frederic Edwin Church, 1850, oil on academy board

Frederic Edwin Church Fog off Mount Desert, 1850 National Gallery of Art

Sea Cove, Albert Bierstadt, ca. 1880–90, oil on wood

Albert Bierstadt Sea Cove, ca. 1880–90 The Met

The Monastery of San Pedro (Our Lady of the Snows), Frederic Edwin Church, 1879, oil on canvas

Frederic Edwin Church The Monastery of San Pedro (Our Lady of the Snows), 1879 Cleveland Museum of Art

The Parthenon, Frederic Edwin Church, 1871, oil on canvas

Frederic Edwin Church The Parthenon, 1871 The Met

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

Nevada Falls, Yosemite, Albert Bierstadt, 1872 or 1873, oil on canvas

Albert Bierstadt Nevada Falls, Yosemite, 1872 or 1873 The Met

Sunrise on the Matterhorn, Albert Bierstadt, after 1875, oil on canvas

Albert Bierstadt Sunrise on the Matterhorn, after 1875 The Met

We look through a tropical forest lining a hazy, wide, placid river in this horizontal landscape painting. Densely packed trees, bushes, and plants create shadowed, thickly forested banks along both sides of the river.

Frederic Edwin Church El Rio de Luz (The River of Light), 1877 National Gallery of Art

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

Storm in the Mountains, Frederic Edwin Church, 1847, oil on canvas

Frederic Edwin Church Storm in the Mountains, 1847 Cleveland Museum of Art

Fir Trees and Storm Clouds, Albert Bierstadt, c. 1870, oil on paper mounted on canvas

Albert Bierstadt Fir Trees and Storm Clouds, c. 1870 Cleveland Museum 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

Study of a Tree, Albert Bierstadt, ca. 1864, oil on paper mounted on board

Albert Bierstadt Study of a Tree, ca. 1864 The Met

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