Storm King on the Hudson
1866
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly
Accession Number
1929.6.20
Tags
About this artwork
The Hudson River was a beloved subject for American landscape painters, and this particular site was popular with artists in part due to the dramatic storms that gathered along the ridge of Storm King Mountain. By 1866, the river had become a major commercial route for trade as well as tourism, providing stone and other materials needed to build a rapidly expanding New York City further south. This was the point where the major water routes from the north met the railhead for the trains heading ...
Art Historical Context
Samuel Colman’s *Storm King on the Hudson* (6) captures the majestic drama of New York’s Hudson River at Storm King Mountain, a favored spot for American landscape painters drawn to its brooding storms and rugged beauty. As part of the Hudson River tradition, Colman’s painting reflects the mid-19th-century fascination with the American sublime—nature’s raw power intertwined with human endeavor. By this time, the Hudson had evolved from a natural wonder into a bustling artery of commerce and tourism, ferrying stone and goods to fuel New York City’s explosive growth while welcoming leisure steam...
About the Artist
Samuel Colman · 1832–1920
Colman grew up in New York, where his father ran a successful publishing business. The family bookstore on Broadway, was a popular meeting place for artists and there Colman met Hudson River School painters. American interior designer, New York, N.Y.; associated with L.C. Tiffany. Comment on works: landscape