Radiant Sun above Mountains
Medium
nature studies
Classification
nature studies
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Louis P. Church
Accession Number
1917-4-1349
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Frederic Edwin Church, a master of the Hudson River School captures the sublime beauty of nature in *Radiant Sun above Mountains (1865–75). This nature study, housed in the Smithsonian American Art, reflects Church's lifelong passion for documenting the American wilderness during a transformative era in U.S. history—postivil War optimism mingled with Romantic reverence for the divine in landscapes. As one of America's foremost landscape painters, Church traveled extensively to sketch real scenes, using these studies as foundational elements for his monumental canvases that celebrated nature's ...