The Hudson River School: Painting the American Sublime

In the mid-19th century, a group of painters set out to capture the vastness and divinity of the American landscape.

They were inspired by the wilderness — immense skies, thunderous waterfalls and unspoilt forests — and saw nature as both a mirror of God and a symbol of national pride.

Known as the Hudson River School, artists such as Thomas Cole, Frederic Edwin Church and Asher B. Durand turned the American continent into a spiritual theatre.

Their luminous, detailed canvases reflected both awe and anxiety — the thrill of discovery shadowed by the advance of civilisation.

This lecture explores how these artists helped shape an American identity rooted in land, light and belief.