Rago Auctions

Truly all is remarkable and a wellspring of amazement and wonder. Man is so fortunate to dwell in this American Garden of Eden.
- Albert Bierstadt

With their sweeping vistas and ethereal luminescence, the works of the Hudson River School are among the most dramatic and inspiring of early American art. Regarded as the country’s first artistic fraternity and founded on the Sublime style of the landscapes by Thomas Cole, artists such as Albert Bierstadt, George Inness, Thomas Worthington Wittridge and Frederic Church captured the adventurous spirit of a young nation discovering its place on the world stage while expanding its boundaries at home. 

When Thomas Cole arrived in New York in 1825, he brought with him a fervent desire to become an accomplished landscape painter. He found his inspiration in the Catskills of New York, sketching and painting along the region’s rivers and mountain trails, and quickly gained recognition for his efforts. Audiences and artists alike were moved by his unprecedented depiction of the American landscape as an untamed wilderness and his style quickly garnered a following of New York City-based landscape painters who would come to be known formally as the Hudson River School. 

Despite Cole’s recognition as the school’s founder, it was under the leadership of his friend, Asher B. Durand that the Hudson River School developed into a codified group. Many of its artists belonged to the National Academy of Design (founded by Cole and Durand in 1825), occupied space in the country’s first designated artists’ workshop, and eventually built homes along the Hudson Valley. Their craggy mountains, monumental compositions, and emphasis on light falling on terrestrial forms broke away from the widely acclaimed European neoclassical ideal in favor of one that was uniquely American. 

Between the years of 1850 and 1900, the Hudson River School flourished, expanding past the New York region to the American West and Southwest where seminal works such as Albert Bierstadt's Domes of Yosemite, 1867 were envisioned. Though the school lost public favor at the turn of the century to the softer romanticism of the European aesthetic, it continues to occupy an important place in American Art and has provided the foundation for subsequent styles including Luminism, a form of which can still be seen today in the works of artists such as April Gornik. With many works found in the expansive collections of the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT and Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, these magnificent scenes glorifying the grandeur of nature and the manifest destiny of the era continue to ignite in audiences a lust for America’s bygone landscapes, full of adventure and waiting to be explored.

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), stands as a venerable institution at the heart of Philadelphia, bearing the distinction of being one of the oldest art schools and museums in the United States. Since its inception in 1805, PAFA has played an integral role in shaping the course of American art, nurturing and propelling the careers of numerous artists who have left an indelible mark on the nation's artistic heritage. The academy's historical significance, the prominence of the artists associated with it, and its enduring educational contributions all underscore its pivotal place in the canon of American art.

PAFA emerged during a time when opportunities for artists in the United States were exceedingly limited and provided a support for several artists that standout in American cultural history. Among them, Thomas Eakins was one of the most celebrated American realist painters and photographers of the late 19th century. Eakins both studied and taught at PAFA. His commitment to realism and uncompromising approach to art education left an indelible legacy that continues to influence artists today. Mary Cassatt, another luminary figure in American art, brought an American sensibility to the French Impressionist movement and Charles Willson Peale, a portrait painter, naturalist, and museum founder, nurtured early American art traditions. PAFA's roster of alumni also includes William Trost Richards, arguably America’s best-known watercolor painter who painted Pennsylvania landscapes in the 1880s, Henry Ossawa Tanner, the first African-American artist to gain international acclaim, as well as Arthur Beecher Carles, Frances Speight, Frederick Judd Waugh, Franklin "Watty" Watkins, Fred Wagner, Hobson Pittman, among others.

Beyond its association with prominent artists, PAFA was (and continues to be) instrumental in the broader American art scene through its art school and its exhibition opportunities and events. These programs have been crucial in shaping the history and future of art in the United States. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art’s legacy endures as a testament to the enduring power of art and its role in shaping a nation's cultural identity.

The National Academy of Design, often referred simply as the “National Academy”, was founded in New York City in 1825 and has rich history of fostering American artists, particularly in fields of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Its mission includes advancing the artist through exhibitions, education, and advocacy. One of its significant roles has been hosting juried exhibitions, which provide a platform for artists to showcase their work to a wider audience. Further it has awarded prizes, and provided a sense of community and recognition for artists across the nation.

The academy has a membership system where members are elected by their peers and recognized for their contributions to the field. The number of living Academicians is limited to 450, and more than 2,400 artists and architects have been elected since 1825. Among the notable artists to attain membership to this respected institution are Albert Bierstadt, Louis Bourgeois, Frederic E. Church, Chuck Close, Richard Diebenkorn, Thomas Eakins, Helen Frankenthaler, Frank Gehry, Horatio Greenough, Charles Gwathmey, Winslow Homer, Jasper Johns, Maya Lin, Tom Otterness, I. M. Pei, Robert Rauschenberg, Dorothea Rockburne, John Singer Sargent, Wayne Theibaud, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Andrew Wyeth, among others.

Learn more about the National Academy of Design

Encompassing a distinguished array of works carefully curated over the course of decades, this important Private Pennsylvania Collection offers a glimpse of American art in its infancy. At the turn of the century, the nation began to establish its own voice and style through institutions such as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (Philadelphia), the American Academy of the Fine Arts (New York), and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), ushering in what is often referred to as the “American Century.” Beginning in the early 1800s with the Western Expansion and the Louisiana Purchase and continuing through the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution, the burgeoning United States was becoming a political and cultural world power. Its artists were exploring the untamed lands of the Northeast, establishing the Hudson River School and American Impressionism while also utilizing newfound wealth and travel opportunities to study abroad in Europe, bringing French and English influences back home where they were shaped into a style that was uniquely American. Through the establishment of The National Academy of Design (New York) and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, these movements flourished and encouraged collaboration and conversation between artists, laying the foundation for American Art as it progressed through the 20th century and into today.