CATSKILL, NY.- The Thomas Cole National Historic Site announces their 2014 exhibition: Master, Mentor, Master - Thomas Cole & Frederic Church. This never before presented exhibition tells the story of one of the most important teacher-student relationships in the history of American art – that between the founder of the Hudson River School of painting, Thomas Cole (1801-1848) and his student – successor, Frederic Church (1826-1900). The exhibition is on view from April 30 through November 2, 2014.
Curator, John Wilmerding, Sarofim Professor of American Art, Emeritus, at Princeton University and former Senior Curator and Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, will present a talk at 2pm on Sunday May 18th to be followed by an opening reception from 3-5pm. The exhibition is accompanied by a printed exhibition catalogue with full-color illustrations of the artworks and an essay by Dr. Wilmerding about this influential two year period that first brought Church to the Hudson Valley.
Master, Mentor, Master - Thomas Cole & Frederic Church is the first exhibition to explore this seminal moment in American art through the lens of the unique relationship between Thomas Cole and Frederic Church. Their student- teacher arrangement grew into a life-long friendship between the two families, and later, the two historic sites that bridge the east and west sides of the Hudson River. Church, who evolved into one of the most celebrated artists of the 19th century and later built Olana, was first introduced to the Hudson River Valley as an 18–year-old when he came to live and study with Cole at the property known as Cedar Grove in Catskill, New York, from 1844 to 1846. Church’s paintings from this formative two-year period show the artist learning from Cole while developing his own emerging style and unparalleled mastery of landscape painting.
A selection of very early works made by Church during his time as a student of Cole are on view, including views of the landscapes that surround Cedar Grove and Olana. The Cole Site has also worked closely with curators and staff at the Olana State Historic Site on this special exhibition, and resent a unique selection of rarely shown oils on paper and sketches made by Church from the Olana collection.
John Wilmerding is the Sarofim Professor of American Art, Emeritus, at Princeton University. He has been a visiting curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and served as Senior Curator and Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, where he was former chairman of the board of trustees. He is currently a trustee of the Guggenheim Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. President Obama appointed him to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House. In 2013 he curated an exhibition about Frederic Church at the Olana State Historic Site, our sister institution directly across the Hudson River.
Master, Mentor, Master - Thomas Cole & Frederic Church is the 11th annual presentation of 19th century landscape paintings at the Thomas Cole Site, an exhibition program that looks to foster discussion and understanding of the influence of Thomas Cole on American culture through a generation of artists known as the Hudson River School. Exhibitions and related programs enable visitors to see first-hand some of the magnificent examples of the style of painting that Cole is credited with launching, and to experience the paintings in a residential setting as they would have been experienced in the period in which they were made.
