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Hudson River School Art

HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL STYLE

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.

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Style: Hudson River School
Color:  Blue
"Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, " Julius Montalant, Maritime Port Trade
Located in New York, NY
Julius Montalant (1823 - 1898) Harbour of Rio Janeiro, 1843-1850 Oil on canvas 17 x 24 inches Signed and dated lower right; conservator's inscription on the reverse Born in Virginia, probably Norfolk, Julius Montalant is known for his drawings and paintings inspired by his travels on board navy ships. Attached to the USS St. Louis around 1844-45, he sketched ports of call he visited, including Brazil, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, and China. Many of his works are held in the Museum of the U.S. Naval Academy. Navy records indicate his rank as 'C. Clerk', which may mean that he held a civilian position. During the 1850s he lived in Philadelphia, and in 1851-61 he exhibited at the Philadelphia Art Union and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Included were paintings of North America, Greece...
Category

1850s Hudson River School Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

In the Afterglow (Contemporary Atmospheric Landscape Color Field Painting)
Located in Hudson, NY
Modern Luminist, Hudson River School landscape painting on canvas of the expansive view over the Hudson River as observed at the top of Olana, the historic home of Frederic Church "...
Category

2010s Hudson River School Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

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Delaware Gap
Delaware Gap
H 24.25 in W 37.5 in D 1.25 in
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Hudson River School art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Hudson River School art available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, purple and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Ralph Albert Blakelock, Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, Jasper Francis Cropsey, and John Frederick Kensett. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Hudson River School art, so small editions measuring 2 inches across are also available. Prices for art made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $400 and tops out at $875,000, while the average work sells for $13,267.

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