About the Artist

Herzog's luminous landscapes were collected for their vibrant realism and shimmering atmospheric effects.  A modest but determined man, he was a prolific painter and gained early financial success through a series of wise investments. His wealthy patrons included Queen Victoria of England and Czar Alexander of Russia. Herzog is best known for his dramatic landscapes of Yosemite national forest.  He loved to sketch directly from nature and frequently journeyed to California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Colorado. His  paintings convey an immense reverence for the natural landscape in all its grandeur.

The Hudson River School

1825-1875

The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement founded by Thomas Cole in 1825. The style was influenced by European romanticism. The artists shared common design aesthetics uniting them as a school despite their distinctive styles. The painters focused on the American wilderness, particularly the Hudson River Valley, Catskill Northeastern mountains, California, Oregon, Utah and Colorado. The paintings were spectacular and dramatic reflecting the wilderness environment. The artists moved their studios out of doors and sketched directly from nature focusing on the drama of light and shadow. Many paintings depict a  rugged landscape, dramatic sunrise or ominous storm clouds brewing in the distance. The works were painstakingly detailed and celebrate Gods divine handiwork in nature.

The mid 1850s was a time of unprecedented development for the young nation, and the Hudson River painters depicted the vastness and beautify of a country proud of its natural resources. They  embraced nature and showed a remarkable attention to detail within the natural landscape. This school popularized the idea of  Manifest Destiny and came to symbolize American vitality, independence and nationalism. Today, works by the Hudson River school artists are treasured as the first uniquely American school of art and for their beauty and significance to art, history and culture

Key Descriptive Words  and Phrases associated with the Hudson River School-  unspoiled nature, atmospheric lighting, primeval landscape, theatrical, Catskill, Berkshire, White Mountains, Walt Whitman, American Transcendentalists, spiritual transformation, dramatic instincts, large scale canvasses, Luminist, Romantic school, wilderness, New York, symbolic language, realism,  Western Expansion and Manifest Destiny.

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