Tag: Hudson River School

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Amusements and Thrills Podcasts Writers and Artists

The Painter Who Brought The World To New York

Cotopaxi, 1862, Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan

Perched over the Hudson River near the city of Hudson sits Olana State Historic Site, once the wondrous home of painter Frederic Church.

This Gilded Age mansion is unlike any in the valley, mystical and imposing, evoking Persian and Moorish architectural styles and reflecting the art and ambitions of its former owner.

Church was more than a Hudson River School painter; he was an adventurer and dreamer, bringing the vistas of the world to America within his massive landscape creations. In 1859, when his Heart of the Andes made its New York debut, thousands lined up to soak in its impossible beauty.

Victoria Johnson, author of the new biography Glorious Country: How the Artist Frederic Church Brought the World to America and America to the World, has walked in his footsteps — from the Ecuadorian volcano Cotopaxi to the heights of ancient Petra.

She joins Greg and Tom on the podcast this week to discuss Church’s unusual life — both as a New Yorker and as a daring traveler. After this show, you may never look at a landscape painting the same way again.

LISTEN HERE: THE PAINTER WHO BROUGHT THE WORLD TO NEW YORK

You can also find the podcast on Apple, Spotify, Overcast and YouTube.

We want to thank Victoria Johnson for joining us on the Bowery Boys Podcast. Her new book Glorious Country is available on Scribner.

Floating Iceberg, Canada, June–July 1859, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Frederic Edwin Church, Niagara Falls in Winter, March 1856, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
 Twilight in the Wilderness, 1860, The Cleveland Museum of Art
 The Parthenon, 1871, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
10th Street Studio, where Church’s studio was located
Frederic Edwin Church, The Heart of the Andes, 1859, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

FURTHER LISTENING

Some other shows from the Bowery Boys Podcast related to this week’s show. Give them a listen when you’re done with our interview with Victoria Johnson:

Categories
Hudson Valley Podcasts

Road Trip to the Hudson Valley: The Complete Series Now Available

The Bowery Boys Road Trip to the Hudson Valley mini-series, exploring stories of American history along the Hudson River, is now complete. Catch up on all three episodes — and join us on Patreon for a special ‘behind the scenes’ episode:

On the Trail of the Croton Aqueduct

Welcome to the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, 26.5 miles of dusty pathway through some of the most interesting and beautiful towns and villages of Westchester County.

But this is more than a linear park. The trail runs atop — and sometimes alongside — the original Croton Aqueduct, a sloping water system which opened in 1842, inspired by ancient Roman technology which delivered fresh water to the growing metropolis over three dozen miles south.

Locations featured: New Croton Dam, the Double Arch Bridge in Ossining, the Keeper’s House in Dobbs Ferry

Hyde Park: The Roosevelts on the Hudson

Hyde Park, New York was the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States. He was born here, he lived here throughout his life, and he’s buried here — alongside his wife Eleanor Roosevelt. 

But it was more than simply a home.

The Hyde Park presence of the Roosevelts expands outwardly from the Roosevelt ancestral mansion of Springwood, over hundreds of forested acres from former farmlands on the eastern side to the shores of the Hudson River on the west.

Locations featured: Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, FDR Presidential Library and Museum, Top Cottage, Val-Kill Cottage, all in Hyde Park

The Hudson River School: An American Art Revolution

Two landmarks to American art history sit on either side of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge over the Hudson River — the homes of visionary artists Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin Church.

Cole and Church were leaders of the Hudson River School, a collective of 19th century American painters captivated by natural beauty and wide-open spaces. Many of these paintings, often of a massive size, depicted fantastic views of the Hudson River Valley where many of the artists lived.

Locations featured: Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, Olana State Historic Site in Hudson

Tom interviewing Amy Hausmann of the Olana State Historic Site

Road Trip to the Hudson Valley: Aftermath

In this Patreon exclusive, Greg and Tom look back on their adventures in the Hudson Valley and give you a behind-the-scenes look at their journeys along the Croton Aqueduct Trail, Hyde Park and the towns of Catskill and Hudson. 

PLUS: Some tips on how to make these trips yourself this year.

To listen to this show, support the Bowery Boys Podcast on Patreon.

Greg and Tom with Betsy Jacks in the New Studio, admiring Cole’s unfinished painting.