Frederic Edwin Church
Frederic Edwin Church was a prominent figure in American landscape painting. His artwork, celebrated for capturing expansive vistas of mountains, waterfalls, and sun-drenched sunsets, was marked by an extraordinary commitment to detail and an evocative use of light.
Mentored by Thomas Cole (the founder of the Hudson River School), Church shared with him a deep Protestant faith that influenced his early works. From 1844 to 1846, Church studied with Cole in his Catskill, New York, studio and accompanied him on sketching sojourns in the Catskill Mountains and the Berkshires of Massachusetts. From the beginning Church sought for his subjects marvels of nature (such as Niagara Falls), volcanoes in eruption, and icebergs. Later, Church portrayed the beauties of the Andes Mountains and tropical forests with great skill. Through his use of light and color and his depiction of natural phenomena such as rainbows, mist, and sunsets, he created renderings that were realistic and emotionally affecting. His combined interests in exotic locales and natural science caused Church, on occasion, to approach a subject systematically.
P.S. Frederic Edwin Church was not only a painter but also a keen world traveler. He visited the Arctic, Mexico, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Middle East. Take a tour around the world through his magnificent paintings!