Late Afternoon Sun Above a River
1850â1860
Classification
landscapes
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Louis P. Church
Accession Number
1917-4-1364
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Frederic Edwin Church, a leading figure of the Hudson River School, painted *Late Afternoon Sun Above a* sometime between 1850 and 1860. This landscape artist (1826–1900), who studied under Thomas Cole, the sublime beauty of nature in an era when Romanticism celebrated the untamed American wilderness as a symbol of divine creation and national pride. Church's works often drew from his extensive travels, evoking awe through meticulous detail and atmospheric drama, reflecting mid-19th-century expansionism and a growing appreciation for the continent's natural wonders. In this piece, the title s...