Frederic Edwin Church

Frederic Edwin Church

Frederic Edwin Church was an American landscape artist who lived from 1826 to 1900. He was an extremely famous painter in his day and was one of the primary figures of the Hudson River School of Art that rose to prominence in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

The Hudson River School of Art was devoted to painting the wild American landscape in a highly romanticized fashion. The art would depict the sublime, vast, rugged spaces of the natural landscape, often with dramatic lighting. At this time, the wilds of America were already being tamed and the artists of this school tried to depict the quickly disappearing landscapes. The pieces were usually landscapes alone, and if people were present, they were often small figures against a large panoramic view. Church belonged to the second generation of the Hudson River School of Art artists.

Frederic Edwin Church was born into a relatively wealthy family, and as such, was allowed to pursue his artistic endeavors from a young age. Church began studying under Thomas Cole when he was 18 years old and was greatly influenced by Cole and Cole’s work. So much so, that he bought a property right across the river from where Cole lived. His estate, affectionately named ‘Olana’, is currently a museum that can be visited today. He studied with Cole for two years and was already extremely talented. In 1848, at 22 years of age, Church became the youngest member of the prestigious National Academy of Design.

Frederic Edwin Church’s early works were focused on the landscapes other Hudson River School of Art artists would depict; primarily that of the northeast United States. Church spent some time traversing South America in the 1850s and created a series of paintings based on these adventures. The first trip was taken in 1853 with businessman, Cyrus West Field, to have Church paint sceneries to lure investors. The second trip was made in 1857 with fellow artist, Louis Rémy Mignot.

Church applied the same methodology to natural wonders of the states and grew to great fame from his painting of Niagara Falls. Church’s finished works were large scale paintings that were often shown to the public in a theater like setting, with mood lighting. People would pay a fee to simply sit and look at the pieces and critics said that it was almost like you were transported to these far-off places.

In 1859, his “The Heart of the Andes” painting sold for $10,000 and at that time took the record for the highest price ever paid for a painting. Frederic Edwin Church went on to achieve great success in his lifetime and traveled extensively all over the world.

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