When Thomas Cole And His Hudson River School Boys And Girls Ruled The Whole Then Western American Universe

When 19^th Century Artist Thomas Cole And His Hudson River School Boys And Girls Ruled The Whole Then Western American Universe-I, Accuse-The Ravishing Of The West

By Laura Perkins

I am in an accusatory mood today after having recently views a number of works by early 19^th century American Thomas Cole one of the leaders of the famed Hudson River School which got its name from the rather pristine natural wonders and lavish landscapes the members painted. The reason I am in high dudgeon is that I was very familiar with many of the areas painted in his (and others of that school) works. Very familiar because I grew up close by the upper Hudson River and the religion I grew up in, Brethren of the Common Life, had its chapel along one area of the river (which is now no longer there since that section of the river has been inundated with housing developments and condos).      

Now I am no Luddite, no “go back to primitive nature,” to the Stone Age or something advocate but Cole and his brethren must take a big heap of blame for the subsequent decay and destruction of these lands (and the lands heading west). After all who wouldn’t after looking at these pristine nature works, after looking at what to urban-dwelling going nowhere in the filled-up cities on the Eastern seaboard immigrants were scenes from the Garden of Eden (before the fall) want to head out and grab and work some land. Find some earthy Eden.     

One of Cole’s more famous paintings, Mohawk Bend, up pas Albany pretty much tells the tale of what this madman and his crew wrought by not being able to keep a secret. Today that place is the site of a manufacturing plant which had previously been cited many times by state authorities for health and environmental violations (the most serious being dumping toxic chemical from production into the river although I understand the process of cleaning up the mess is finally underway). Sure, sure land hunger, some notion of Manifest Destiny (America from shore to shore), the expansion of slavery back in the day, Professor Turner’s later thesis about the effects of the end of the frontier once the Pacific was reached played their parts but the Hudson River crowd has to take some responsibility too. I have said my piece.