Artist's and Historical Context
Take notes
What do you think motivated Thomas Cole to create this painting? Why do you think he painted this scene in this way? Type your thoughts in the box below. Click or tap save when you are finished.
In his paintings, Thomas Cole presents a view of nature that is counter to soon-to-be President Andrew Jackson’s belief in Manifest Destiny. This idea would soon become popular among European Americans in Cole’s lifetime.
Thomas Cole’s landscapes focused on the beauty and awe of nature in contrast to the booming industry and materialism he experienced while living in busy New York City during the Industrial Revolution. By traveling to paint in the countryside of New York and New Hampshire, Thomas Cole shared a lesser-seen perspective of land and place.
| Keyboard Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Pause/Play video playback |
| Enter | Pause/Play video playback |
| m | Mute/Unmute video volume |
| Up and Down arrows | Increase and decrease volume by 10% |
| Right and Left arrows | Seek forward or backward by 5 seconds |
| 0-9 | Fast seek to x% of the video. |
| f | Enter or exit fullscreen. (Note: To exit fullscreen in flash press the Esc key. |
| c | Press c to toggle captions on or off |
MJ Robinson:
Thomas Cole was critical of how fellow European-Americans were radically altering the landscape. In the 1800s, European-Americans were clear-cutting forest land for European-style farming, creating new railroads and canals like this one for travel and shipping, and building cities and factories which polluted the environment.
Coming from Europe with a very different relationship to land, and with racist ideas that they were culturally superior, white settlers were eager to control land and resources. They forced native people from their home territories, at times killing them or forcing them into slavery.
Artist Comparison
Look at how Thomas Cole’s Landscape (Landscape with Tree Trunks) compares to William James Bennett’s painting View of South Street from Maiden Lane, New York City.
Thomas Cole’s painting Landscape (Landscape with Tree Trunks), 1828.
William James Bennett’s painting View of South Street from Maiden Lane, New York City, 1827.
How do the paintings by Thomas Cole and William James Bennett differ? How are they similar?
Type your thoughts into the chart below and click or tap save when you are finished.
