Study for "Catskill Creek"

c. 1844/1845

Thomas Cole

Associated Names
Thomas Cole

Painter, American, 1801 - 1848

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. At the bottom of the painting, in front of the mountains, the terrain appears gentle and rolling, with thick brushstrokes of deep, rich browns and greens suggesting trees and bushland. Above the horizon, the sky is filled with softly painted clouds glowing in warm hues of orange and pink. The color palette consists of warm earth tones in the landscape and transitions to soft blues and grays in the sky.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on wood

  • Credit Line

    Avalon Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 30.5 x 45.7 cm (12 x 18 in.)
    framed: 40 x 54.9 x 5.1 cm (15 3/4 x 21 5/8 x 2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1998.67.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist's granddaughter, Florence H.C. Vincent, Catskill, New York; her niece and the artist's great-granddaughter, Edith Cole Hill, Catskill, New York; (her sale of paintings and furniture from the home of Thomas Cole, O. Rundle Gilbert, Catskill, New York, 26 September 1964); private collection; (sale, Christie's, New York, 21 May 1998, no. 84); purchased by (Richard York Gallery, New York) for NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2014

  • Master, Mentor, Master. Thomas Cole and Frederic Church., Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Catskill, 2014, fig. 13.

2019

  • Thomas Cole's Refrain: The Paintings of Catskill Creek, Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Catskill; The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, 2019-2020, fig. 5.22.

Bibliography

1994

  • Carr, Gerald L. Frederic Edwin Church: Catalogue Raisonné of Works of Art at Olana State Historic Site. Volume 1. Text. 2 vols. Cambridge, England, 1994: 1:13-14, fig. 13.

2006

  • Conisbee, Philip, and Franklin Kelly. "Small is Beautiful." National Gallery of Art Bulletin, no. 34 (Spring 2006): 2-17, fig. 5.

2012

  • Kennicott, Philip. "French Rooms Reopen, With Different Accents." Washington Post 135, no. 55 (January 29, 2012): E25.

Wikidata ID

Q19900520

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