Considered the first major American painting movement, the Hudson River School emerged in the first half of the 19th century with landscape paintings that celebrated the young country’s natural beauty. Most of its leading painters were based in New York City where they exchanged ideas and traveled to the nearby Hudson River Valley and Catskills Mountains to re-create their vistas. At a time when the city was increasingly dense, the Hudson River School artists extolled the vast and pristine qualities of the American landscape, a sentiment that would inform the conservation movement.
American art was dominated by portraiture and historical scenes before Thomas Cole, the founder of the Hudson River School, began painting the Catskill Mountains in 1825. While the Hudson River School was informed by European art aesthetics, particularly the British focus on the sublime in nature, it was a style imbued with nationalism. The landscape painters who followed and studied under Cole would expand their focus from the Northeastern United States to places across the country, their work shared through prints and portfolios promoting an appreciation for the American wilderness — Niagara Falls, the mountain ranges that dot the American West and more — as the style blossomed during the mid-19th century.
Cole’s student Frederic Edwin Church as well as painters such as Albert Bierstadt, John Frederick Kensett, Asher Brown Durand and others became prominent proponents of the Hudson River School. The American art movement also had close ties to the literary world, including to authors like William Cullen Bryant, Henry David Thoreau and James Fenimore Cooper who wrote on similar themes. Although by the early 1900s the style had waned, and modernism would soon guide the following decades of art in the United States, the Hudson River School received renewed interest in the late 20th century for the dramatic way its artists portrayed the world.
Find a collection of authentic Hudson River School paintings, drawings and watercolors and more art on 1stDibs.
Camel Back - Summer
Located in Milford, NH
A fine Vermont landscape oil painting by American artist Charles Louis Heyde (1822-1892). A prominent New England landscape painter, Charles Heyde lived in Vermont from the early 185...
Canvas, Oil
Vermont Hillside Farm
By James Hope
Located in Milford, NH
A wonderfully detailed New England landscape by Scottish American artist James Hope (1818-1892). Hope was born in Drygrange, Roxboroughshire, Scotland. After the death of his mother,...
Canvas, Oil
Picking Wildflowers
Located in Milford, NH
A fine landscape painting with birch trees and wildflowers by American artist Ernest Parton (1845-1933). Parton was born in Hudson, New York, and in his teenage years, began to accom...
Canvas, Oil
Autumn Landscape
By William Louis Sonntag Sr. 1
Located in Milford, NH
A wonderful Autumn landscape likely of the Hudson River Valley by the revered American artist William Louis Sonntag (1822-1900). Sonntag was born near Pittsburgh, PA and moved to Cincinnati, OH in the 1840’s to study art. He studied for a brief time with G. Frankenstein at the Cincinnati Academy of Fine Art and his idealized paintings of American wilderness and visionary paintings of imagined European ruins were commercially successful. He traveled twice to Europe in the 1850’s to improve his skills, eventually settling in New York City. He joined the National Academy of Design, where he exhibited his works for forty years. His mature works identify him with the Hudson River School of landscape painters. A romantic and naturalistic painter of his surroundings, Sonntag also created idealized paintings of Roman ruins, recalling his European trips of earlier years. Sonntag was an Associate (1860) and Academician (1861) at the National Academy of Design, and a member of the American Watercolor Society, Artists Fund Society, and the American Art Union...
Canvas, Oil
Picnic On The Mohawk
Located in Milford, NH
A wonderful landscape by American artist Thomas Mickell Burnham (1818-1866). Burnham was born in Boston, MA and received informal art training early on, traveling abroad before relo...
Canvas, Oil
1860s American Gilt Frame Eli Wilner Historic Period Collection Hudson River
Located in Jacksonville, FL
An Exceptional Gilt Frame with Historic Provenance This 1860s American Hudson River School frame is a remarkable artifact in its own right, enriched by...
Wood
Antique 1860s Hudson River School Gilt Frame with Egg-and-Dart and Bead Molding
Located in Jacksonville, FL
A beautifully preserved example of mid-19th-century American frame craftsmanship, this giltwood frame from the 1860s reflects the classical elegance favored by the Hudson River Schoo...
Wood
$1,500Sale Price|25% Off
H 20 in W 34 in D 0.5 in
Catskill Mountains from Germantown NY
By Thomas Cole
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Gorgeous panoramic sunset landscape by unknown artist, ca. 1890. Oil on canvas measuring 20 x 34 inches. Depicted are the Catskill Mountains facing west from somewhere in Dutchess County NY...
Canvas, Oil
$15,000
H 15 in W 25 in
Sunset on the Hudson River by Hermann Simon (American, 1846-1895)
Located in New York, NY
Painted by Hudson River School artist Hermann Simon (1846-1895) , "Sunset on the Hudson River" is oil on canvas, measures 15 x 25 inches, and is signed and dated 1875 at the lower ri...
Canvas, Oil
$36,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 25 in W 37 in D 2 in
Historic and Rare 19th Century Arctic Iceberg Seascape Framed Winter Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American winter seascape with an iceberg by Carl Philipp Weber (1849 - 1922). Oil on canvas. Signed. In excellent original condition. Handsomely framed in a period gold g...
Canvas, Oil
$4,500
H 31.5 in W 39 in D 2.5 in
“Quebec City, 1853” Panoramic Landscape View, Cityscape, Canada Signed Oil
By Edmund C. Coates
Located in Yardley, PA
“Quebec City, 1853” by Edmund C. Coates (American, 1816-1871). A luminous 19th-century view of Quebec City by the American painter Edmund C. Coates, known for his detailed Hudson Ri...
Canvas, Oil
$1,800Sale Price|68% Off
H 30 in W 40 in D 0.875 in
"Being There" Original Oil Painting by Robert White, Frameless Display
Located in Encino, CA
“Being There,” an original oil on canvas by Robert K. White, is a piece for the true collector. White’s careful attention to detail and vivid use of browns and reds project from the painting, immediately capturing the viewer's attention and highlighting the artist's keen ability to capture emotion and life - all in a brushstroke. White's talent for depicting light and shadow provides the foundation for him to deliver subjects and scenes to the viewer's eye. This masterful work would make a great addition to an art collection and enhance most any home, perfect for those who have an affinity for cityscapes, theater, and architecture. In the artist’s own words, “I don’t paint what is inside of me; I paint what I see outside of me. I’m an observer. If I see something and I feel an affinity for it, something just clicks in my head. I’ll make the decision right then and there to paint that particular subject during that particular moment. It’s a perfect moment. Once something has caught my eye and I’ve heard the “perfect” click, it’s like a photograph has been taken in my mind’s eye. I only have a few days of clarity with that image. I have to start the painting quickly or else it will be gone and I will lose that image forever.” Artist: ROBERT KENNETH WHITE...
Oil, Canvas
$15,000
H 19.5 in W 24.5 in
"Pastoral Landscape, " William Hart, Hudson River School, Cloudy View with Cows
By William Hart
Located in New York, NY
William Hart (1823 - 1894) Pastoral Landscape, 1877 Oil on canvas 9 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches Signed and dated lower left Born in Paisley, Scotland, William Ha...
Canvas, Oil
$15,000
H 12 in W 18 in
Hudson River Landscape by American Artist Johann Hermann Carmiencke (1810-1867)
By Johann Hermann Carmiencke
Located in New York, NY
Painted by Hudson River School artist Johann Hermann Carmiencke, "Hudson River Landscape" is oil on canvas and measures 12 x 18 inches. The painting is signed and dated 1865 at the l...
Canvas, Oil
$4,975
H 29 in W 43 in D 2 in
Antique American Realist Cow Farm Large 19th Century Landscape Framed Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American realist cow farm landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Measuring: 29 by 41 inches overall, and 24 by 36 painting alone.. In excellent original condition. ...
Oil, Canvas
$5,127
H 29.14 in W 25.99 in
Antique Indian Ceremonial Large State Horse, Carved Wood with Metal Trappings
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The State Horse India, late 19th century Carved wood decorated with embossed and studded metal plates. Carving depicting the harness (bridle, saddle and caparison), embellished wi...
Wood
$27,800Sale Price|20% Off
H 38 in W 56 in D 4 in
Large Antique American Hudson River School Waterfall Landscape Rare Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American rare woman artist Hudson River School waterfall landscape by Susan E. W. Fuller (1831 - 1907). Oil on canvas. Signed. Large and impressive painting. Handsomely fr...
Canvas, Oil
$19,500
H 8 in W 13 in
Lake George by Hudson River School artist William Richardson Tyler (1825-1896)
Located in New York, NY
Hudson River School artist William Richardson Tyler's (1825-1896) "Lake George," is oil on canvas and measures 8 x 13 inches. The painting is signed at the lower center and signed an...
Canvas, Oil
Sheep in Pasture
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
George Riecke (1848–1930) Pastoral Landscape with Sheep Oil on canvas, 26 × 46 inches (32 × 52 inches framed) Signed lower right George Riecke’s pastora...
Canvas, Oil
View of the Pemigewasset, New Hampshire
Located in Milford, NH
A wonderful New Hampshire landscape by American artist Charles Wilson Knapp (1823-1900). Knapp was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his work was first exhibited at the Nationa...
Canvas, Oil
Housatonic River at Cornwall
By John William Casilear
Located in Milford, NH
A fine Connecticut river landscape by American Hudson River artist John William Casilear (1811-1893). Casilear was born in New York City, began his study with master engraver Peter M...
Canvas, Oil
Delaware Gap
Located in Milford, NH
A finely detailed oil landscape of the Delaware Gap attributed to French American artist Regis Francois Gignoux (1816-1882). Gignoux was born in Lyon, France, and began his studies i...
Canvas, Oil
New England Farm
Located in Milford, NH
A fine large landscape of a New England farm with cows, stone arch bridge, farmhouse and barns by American artist John White Allen Scott (1815-1907). Scott was born in Roxbury, MA and apprenticed with lithographer William Pendleton and later worked with Fitz Henry Lane...
Canvas, Oil
Valley River
Located in Milford, NH
A fine valley river landscape with cows in the style of the Hudson River School by American artist Charles Wilson Knapp (1823-1900). Knapp was bor...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 20 in W 28.75 in D 1.5 in
Sunset over Lake George
Located in Milford, NH
A beautiful 19th century American School oil painting landscape in the Hudson River style, of a sunset over Lake George. Oil on canvas, un...
Canvas, Oil
Pair Hudson River School Autumn Landscape Oil Paintings
Located in Rochester, NY
Pair of Hudson river school oil paintings. Possibly the White mountains. One is monogrammed, see last photo. Oil on board. In original frames, circa 1870's.
Oil, Board
New York Landscape
Located in Milford, NH
A fine New York landscape with cows by American artist Emile Faure Beaulieu (b. 1828, actively exhibiting in the 1850-1860’s). Beaulieu was known as...
Canvas, Oil