Thomas Cole (1801-1848) was born in England and immigrated to America. As an artist and immigrant, he was captivated by the beauty of this country and began painting romantic landscapes like The Oxbow. He is credited with founding the Hudson River School Art Movement as he painted. This revered work is of the long ago Connecticut River Valley as viewed from Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts.

Thomas Cole believed in a strong connection between nature, art and spirituality. He worked to capture the beauty of God’s creation and inspire us to see and value our own views. He is quoted as strongly saying, “We are still in Eden; the wall that shuts us out of the garden is our own ignorance and folly.” 

Cole spent the last 23 years of his short life in Catskill, New York. He died of pleurisy, inflammation of the lungs and chest cavity, at age 47, leaving a wife and five children.

 
We give thanks for the life and work of Thomas Cole. May we each day search for the beauty he pointed to with paint and brush.

In gratitude, faith and hope,