Hudson River School

The Hudson River School was an art movement (not really a school, but a collection of enthusiastic and driven landscape artists) that existed in the United States in the mid 19th century. Founded by artist Thomas Cole, the work produced by HRS artists followed the themes of discovery, exploration and settlement.

Quite often, the scenes painted by HRS artists do not depict actual locations like the work produced by other landscape artists. HRS artists would often travel to many various locations and record their sightings, and paint from both memory and imagination upon returning home.

I see this kind of work as an early version of photomanipulation, however instead of taking photographs and merging them later on using computers, these artists would draw upon their memories and their own imaginations to create these wonderful inspiring compositions based upon what they had seen and what they wished to see.


The following is a few examples of work done by various HRS members


View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, 1836
Thomas Cole (American, 1801–1848)
Oil on canvas


The Heart of the Andes, 1859
Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900)
Oil on canvas


The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, 1863
Albert Bierstadt (American, 1830–1902)
Oil on canvas

References
(note to self, reference this properly)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River_School
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hurs/hd_hurs.htm