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New England Scenery

A work made of oil on canvas.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1839

Artist:

Thomas Cole (American, born England, 1801–1848)

About this artwork

Although Thomas Cole is best known for his scenes of the American wilderness, he also rendered pastoral vistas of cultivated landscapes. This work depicts New Hampshire’s White Mountains, an area that Cole traveled to and painted on numerous occasions, as did other 19th-century landscape artists. The prominent church spire at middle distance emphasizes the role of religion in agrarian society and the glow of the low sun expresses a sense of optimism for a rural America. The painting conveys an ideal that was increasingly far from reality, however, as the United States was then being transformed by rapid urbanization and the Industrial Revolution.

Status

On View, Gallery 171

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Thomas Cole

Title

New England Scenery

Place

New England (Place depicted)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1839

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed on lower section of tree trunk: "T Cole" Dated at bottom, left of center: "1839"

Dimensions

57.1 × 46.7 cm (22 1/2 × 18 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Nickerson Collection

Reference Number

1900.558

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/57163/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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