Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire: Desolation, 1836. Courtesy of the New-York Historical Society © Collection of The New-York Historical Society, New York / Digital image created by Oppenheimer Editions.
Thomas Cole: Eden to Empire – NGA London This summer the National Gallery London presents ‘Thomas Cole: Eden to Empire’, an exhibition displaying the landscapes of British-born American artist Thomas Cole (1801–1848). 11 June – 7 October 2018]]>
Source: National Gallery London
Known for epic vistas, dramatic natural settings, and imaginative landscapes, Thomas Cole’s work depicts nature at its most powerful and vulnerable. His paintings glory in the unique terrain of the American Northeast –largely still unspoiled in his time- while serving as a cautionary tale about the use of natural resources in an increasingly industrial age.
The exhibition includes 58 works, the majority on loan from North American collections. It includes Cole’s iconic painting cycle, ‘The Course of Empire’ (1834–6, New-York Historical Society) and the masterpiece that secured his career and reputation – and which has never been seen in the UK before – ‘View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm – The Oxbow’ (1836, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Cole’s paintings are shown alongside works by British artists with whom he was personally acquainted, as well as those who influenced him most, including Joseph Mallord William Turner and John Constable.
A self-taught artist from Bolton, Cole is recognised as the father of landscape painting in the US. His career was shaped by his formative years labouring in the textile mills north of Manchester, and by his later study of the European masters whose works he travelled to see in London, Paris, and Rome.
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‘Thomas Cole’s Journey: Atlantic Crossings’ at the Met (exhibition, 2018)
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