The Voyage of Life: Childhood (detail) - Thomas Cole Memo.

Thomas Cole was a landscape painter active in the United States in the 19th century. He is known for his poetic depictions of America's majestic natural scenery, and is considered the founder of the Hudson River School . His work is often searched for by many people with an interest in American art using keywords such as "Thomas Cole Hudson River School," " Thomas Cole landscape painting," and "Thomas Cole Oxbow."

Thomas Cole Biography

• Born February 1, 1801, in Bolton, Lancashire, England
• In 1818, he emigrated with his family to Steubenville, Ohio, USA.
• From around 1823, he taught himself painting and began working as a traveling portrait painter.
• In 1825, he moved to New York, where his paintings of the Hudson River landscape were highly praised by John Trumbull and others, and he gained fame as a landscape painter.
• From 1829 to 1832, he traveled through Europe and was particularly impressed by the landscapes and ancient ruins of Italy.
• In 1836, he produced his masterpiece, the series "The Progress of the Empire," and established his own unique style, combining historical themes with landscape painting.
• In the same year, he established a home in the Catskill Mountains, where he continued to create his works.
• Died February 11, 1848, Catskill, New York (aged 47)

Representative works

• The Oxbow (View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm) (1836)
• The Voyage of Life (1842)
• "Childhood"
• "Youth"
• "Manhood"
• "Old Age"
• The Course of Empire series (1833–1836)
  • The Savage State
  • The Arcadian or Pastoral State
  • The Consummation of Empire
  • Destruction
  • Desolation
• Sunrise in the Catskill Mountains (1826)
• The Last of the Mohicans (1827)

Cole's style is characterized by his idealized depictions of America's majestic natural scenery. He created poetic portrayals of eastern American landscapes, such as the Hudson River Basin and the Catskill Mountains, and established a style of landscape painting known as the Hudson River School . His masterpiece, "Oxbow (Meandering Connecticut River)," depicts the majestic landscape of the Connecticut River after a storm, and is widely known as his most famous work, with keywords such as "Thomas Cole Oxbow" and "Thomas Cole landscape painting" being used to refer to it.

Cole also went beyond mere landscape painting, developing a unique style that combined historical and allegorical themes with landscape painting. Series such as "The Voyage of Life" and "The Voyage of Empires" depict universal themes such as human destiny and the rise and fall of civilizations on a grand scale, and are highly regarded as important works that demonstrate his philosophical thinking, with keywords such as "Thomas Cole: The Voyage of Empires" and "Thomas Cole: The Voyage of Life."

Through his work, Cole made a significant contribution to the development of American landscape painting and had a profound influence on subsequent generations of artists. His works are housed in major art museums across the United States, and you can find information on museums where you can view his work by searching for "Thomas Cole artwork" or "Thomas Cole Museum of Art." Additionally, the mansion where he lived in Catskill, New York, is now open to the public as the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, and you can learn more about his life and work by searching for "Thomas Cole National Historic Site."