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View on the Catskill—Early Autumn

Thomas Cole American
1836–37
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 759
Cole was enraptured by the pictureseque landscape along the Hudson River in upstate New York and spent much of his time at his home on the Catskill Creek tributary. By 1837, when he painted this view, the region was rapidly transforming. The Canajoharie and Catskill Railroad was being constructed through its heart, dooming hundreds of trees. Cole, who was also a poet and essayist, wrote in despair of the ruthless sacrifice. Here, the misty glow on the distant mountains, the calm water, and the pastoral figures constitute a scene that he mourned as lost forever.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: View on the Catskill—Early Autumn
  • Artist: Thomas Cole (American, Lancashire 1801–1848 Catskill, New York)
  • Date: 1836–37
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 39 x 63 in. (99.1 x 160cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift in memory of Jonathan Sturges by his children, 1895
  • Object Number: 95.13.3
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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4346. View on the Catskill—Early Autumn

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