Hudson River School: Subjects & Themes
Browse works by subject category
Landscapes
The heart of the school: Catskill gorges, Hudson Valley panoramas, Adirondack lakes and distant South American and Italian views by Cole, Durand, Church and their circle.
139 worksPortraits
Engraved and painted portraits, many by Asher B. Durand from his years as an engraver, including statesmen, clergy and patrons of the American arts.
43 worksTrees
Beeches, birches, oaks and blasted trunks - the close tree studies Durand urged painters to make directly from nature.
31 worksMountains
The Catskills, the White Mountains, the Adirondacks and the Andes, from Cole's storm-swept peaks to Church's panoramas.
21 worksLakes
Lake George, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore and other still waters, including Kensett's luminous late studies.
20 worksWhite Gouache
19 worksBoats
Schooners, sloops and rowboats on calm harbors and stormy shores, from Fitz Henry Lane's Gloucester to Heade's marshes.
18 worksEngraving
16 worksEngraving And Etching; Proof
16 worksRivers
The Hudson, the Connecticut, the Delaware and South American rivers - the waterways that gave the school its name and its compositions.
14 worksTopographical
11 worksFlowers
Martin Johnson Heade's apple blossoms, roses and magnolias, alongside floral motifs in Durand's engraved work.
10 worksCows
Cattle at pasture and pond, the pastoral note in landscapes by Durand, Inness, Cropsey and William Hart.
9 worksShips
9 worksMoney
8 worksNew York
8 worksWaterway
8 worksBuildings
7 worksForests
Woodland interiors and deep forest scenes by Durand, Whittredge and Church.
7 worksHills
7 worksItaly
Views of the Roman Campagna, Tivoli, Sicily and the Italian lakes from the painters' European travels.
7 worksRuins
Classical temples, towers and the Parthenon, drawn and painted by Cole, Church, Cropsey and McEntee on their travels.
7 works