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.
$12,000
Charles Louis Heyde 19th c Vermont Landscape Oil Painting, Camel's Hump - 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
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
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
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
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
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
$6,000
H 19 in W 29 in
"Grand Manan" Harrison Bird Brown, Maine Landscape, Hudson River School Seascape
Located in New York, NY
Harrison Bird Brown (1831 - 1915) Grand Manan Oil on canvas 12 x 20 inches Signed with initials lower left Harrison Bird Brown was born in 1831 in Portland, Maine, and is best known for his White Mountain landscapes and marine paintings of Maine's Casco Bay...
Canvas, Oil
$3,475
H 15 in W 19 in D 2 in
Luminous Hudson River School Landscape Cows Grazing Wide Gold Frame Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
A finely rendered 19th century Hudson River School landscape depicting cattle grazing within an expansive open field, set beneath a softly illuminated sky. The composition is anchore...
Canvas, Oil
RETNA X Beyond the Streets Complete Set of Skate Decks
By RETNA
Located in Draper, UT
Up for sale is a complete set of skate decks featuring offset lithographs in colors by the renowned artist Retna. This set, produced by Beyond the Streets...
Wood
$475
H 11.5 in W 11.5 in
Castelli Maiolica Plaque with Medieval Castle Village Italy Mediterranean Trees
Located in Austin, TX
Ceramic Plaque: 11.5 x 11.5 inches Solid Wood Frame: 15.5 x 15.5 inches An exquisite Castelli Maiolica plaque, featuring a richly detailed scene of the Italian Renaissance. The cera...
Ceramic, Wood
$7,600
H 32 in W 42 in D 2 in
Moonrise in the Mountains (Hudson River School Style Nighttime Landscape)
Located in Hudson, NY
Luminist, Hudson River School inspired landscape of Catskill mountains with moonlit blue sky "Moonrise in the Mountains", painted by Hudson Valley artist, Jane Bloodgood-Abrams in 20...
Canvas, Oil
$1,530
H 14 in W 20 in
Hudson River Valley Bridge Antique American Oil Painting Framed NYC 19th Century
Located in Buffalo, NY
This atmospheric antique American landscape depicts a rustic wooden covered bridge spanning a quiet river, surrounded by dense foliage and dappled summer light. Painted in oil, the c...
Canvas, Oil
$5,500
H 40 in W 32 in D 3 in
Yellowstone Falls Landscape - Original Turn of the Century Oil Painting
Located in Soquel, CA
Yellowstone Falls Landscape - Original Turn of the Century Oil Painting Substantial and period painting of Yellowstone Falls by an unknown artist (American, 19th-20th Century), c.18...
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$4,500
H 16 in W 14 in
"From Nature, Adirondacks" Charles Day Hunt, Hudson River School, New York State
By Charles Day Hunt
Located in New York, NY
Charles Day Hunt From Nature, Adirondacks, circa 1880 Signed lower right; signed and titled on the reverse Oil on canvas 10 x 8 inches Provenance Linda Peet, Glen Head, New York C...
Canvas, Oil
$4,073
H 39.38 in W 39.38 in D 1.58 in
Aguas Cristalinas -original modern realism waterscape painting -contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$995
H 24 in W 33 in D 2 in
Antique American School Framed Signed Serene Lake Landscape Original Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American school landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Measuring: 24 by 33 inches overall, and 20 by 29 painting alone. Nice period frame. Excellent condit...
Oil, Canvas
$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
“Woodland Study”
Located in San Francisco, CA
Remarkably, this painting tells its own story on the verso. To save your eyesight, here's what it reveals: James McDougal Hart (1828-1901) Landscape, animal, and portrait painter. A ...
Canvas, Linen, 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