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View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow

Thomas Cole American
1836
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 759
Fascinated by the winding Connecticut River, Cole made the U-shaped bend known as the Oxbow the subject of this dramatic painting. He imbued the scene with the eerie glow that follows a thunderstorm. Cole juxtaposed stormy, untamed wilderness on the left with a sunlit, pastoral settlement on the right to emphasize the diverse possibilities of the American landscape. At the lower center the artist depicted himself, pausing from a sketch, gazing directly at the viewer.


"I think that [Cole] is calling out the fact that our way of developing—our way of improving the land or making it profitable—was pushing nature out, Indigenous people out." Xiye Bastida, climate activist, Audioguide 4026

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow
  • Artist: Thomas Cole (American, Lancashire 1801–1848 Catskill, New York)
  • Date: 1836
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 51 1/2 x 76 in. (130.8 x 193 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1908
  • Object Number: 08.228
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

Audio

Cover Image for 4344. View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow

4344. View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow

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