Thomas Cole was an American artist who founded the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintings. Influenced by European painters, but with a strong American sensibility, he was prolific throughout his career and worked primarily with oil on canvas.

His paintings are typically allegoric and often depict small figures or structures set against moody and evocative natural landscapes. They are usually escapist, framing the New World as a natural eden contrasting with the smog-filled cityscapes of Industrial Revolution-era Britain, in which he grew up. His works, often seen as conservative, criticize the contemporary trends of industrialism, urbanism, and westward expansion.

Self-taught, Cole began painting portraits in 1822. In the ensuing years, he shifted his focus to landscapes. One of Cole's first landscapes, Lake with Dead Trees (1825), was among those that first popularized his works in an 1825 exhibition. Most of his early works depict the wilderness, "the truly American forest", typically the Hudson River Valley and Catskills where he resided. From 1831 to 1832, Cole traversed Italy; some of the classical ruins he visited made appearances in his paintings, such as Aqueduct near Rome (1832), Roman Campagna (1843), and Arch of Nero (1846). While in Rome, Cole formulated the concept for his most ambitious work yet: The Course of Empire, a series of five paintings following the rise and fall of civilization. Completed in 1836, the series reflects nostalgia for pastoralism and Cole's personal opposition to US President Andrew Jackson. His 1836 painting The Oxbow encompasses many of the themes from his earlier landscapes, juxtaposing untamed nature with "civilized" land. Later in life, Cole transitioned away from natural landscapes to focus more on works conveying religious or spiritual themes. In 1842, he painted The Voyage of Life, another allegorical series, this time depicting the course of an individual's life. His 1847 painting Prometheus Bound, based on the Greek myth, is believed by some analysts to express abolitionist sentiments. One of Cole's final landscapes, Cross at Sunset, was left unfinished after his premature death in 1848.

Today, Cole's work are held across a wide variety of major and national museums, with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the National Gallery of Art having some of the largest collections. The following list consists only of paintings documented in public collections.

Paintings Dated works + ImageTitleYear Medium DimensionsCollection Lake with Dead Trees 1825 Oil on canvas Allen Memorial Art Museum, Ohio View of Fort Putnam 1825 Oil on canvas Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Landscape 1825 Oil on canvas Minneapolis Institute of Art, MinnesotaCatskills Mountain Landscape Oil on wood Sheldon Museum of Art, Nebraska Oil on panel High Museum of Art, Georgia Kaaterskill Falls 1826 Oil on canvas Wadsworth Atheneum, Connecticut Sunrise in the Catskills 1826 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Landscape, the Seat of Mr. Featherstonhaugh in the Distance 1826 Oil on canvas Philadelphia Museum of Art, PennsylvaniaView on the Schoharie 1826 Oil on canvas Fenimore Art Museum, New York Daniel Boone Sitting At the Door of His Cabin on the Great Osage Lake Kentucky 1826 Oil on canvas Mead Art Museum, MassachusettsFrom the Top of Kaaterskill Falls 1826 Oil on canvas Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan 1826 Oil on panel USC Fisher Museum of Art, California Oil on canvas University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Peace at Sunset Oil on canvas Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California Scene from "The Last of the Mohicans," Cora Kneeling at the Feet of Tamenund 1827 Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1827 Oil on canvas New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut View of the Round-Top in the Catskill Mountains 1827 Oil on panel Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts View in the White Mountains 1827 Oil on canvas Wadsworth Atheneum, Connecticut Autumn in the Catskills 1827 Oil on wood Arnot Art Museum, New York View near the Village of Catskill 1827 Oil on panel Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California Landscape Composition: Saint John in the Wilderness 1827 Oil on canvas Wadsworth Atheneum, ConnecticutLake Winnepesaukee Oil on canvas Albany Institute of History & Art, New York Expulsion: Moon and Firelight Oil on canvas Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid Expulsion from the Garden of Eden 1828 Oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts Landscape (Landscape with Tree Trunks) 1828 Oil on canvas Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, Rhode Island 1828 Oil on canvas Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Texas View on Lake Winnipiseogee 1828 Oil on panel Wadsworth Atheneum, Connecticut 1829 Oil on canvas Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Distant View of Niagara Falls 1830 Oil on panel Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois Tornado in an American Forest 1831 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Oil on canvas Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland Aqueduct near Rome 1832 Oil on canvas Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Missouri 1832 Oil on panel Albany Institute of History & Art, New York Ruined Tower (Mediterranean Coast Scene with Tower) Oil on composition board Albany Institute of History & Art, New York Ruined Castle and River Oil on canvas Brooklyn Museum, New York Oil on canvas Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio 1832 Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Salvator Rosa Sketching Banditti Oil on panel Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts Catskill Scenery Oil on canvas Saint Louis Art Museum, MissouriSunset, View on the Catskill 1833 Oil on wood New-York Historical Society, New York 1833 Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Scene from Byron’s “Manfred” 1833 Oil on canvas Yale University Art Gallery, Connecticut Landscape (Moonlight) Oil on canvas New-York Historical Society, New York Oil on canvas New-York Historical Society, New York Oil on canvas Chrysler Museum of Art, Virginia Autumn Twilight, View of Conway Peak (Mount Chocorua), New Hampshire 1834 Oil on wood New-York Historical Society, New York Summer Twilight, A Recollection of a Scene in New-England 1834 Oil on wood New-York Historical Society, New York Clouds Oil on paper laiddown on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Self-Portrait Oil on canvas New-York Historical Society, New York 1836 Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Oil on canvas New-York Historical Society, New York Oil on canvas New-York Historical Society, New York Oil on canvas (relined) New-York Historical Society, New York 1836 Oil on canvas (relined) New-York Historical Society, New York View on the Catskill Early Autumn Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York View of Florence from San Miniato 1837 Oil on canvas Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio 1837 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 1837 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. View on the Arno, near Florence 1837 Oil on canvas Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts Oil on canvas Yale University Art Gallery, Connecticut Dream of Arcadia Oil on canvas Denver Art Museum, Colorado Romantic Landscape with Ruined Tower 1838 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. View of Schroon Mountain, Essex County, New York, After a Storm 1838 Oil on canvas The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio 1838 Oil on canvas Mead Art Museum, Massachusetts 1838 Oil on canvas Mead Art Museum, Massachusetts North Mountain and Catskill Creek 1838 Oil on canvas Yale University Art Gallery, Connecticut 1839 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New England Scenery 1839 Oil on canvas Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois Gardens of the Van Rensselaer Manor House 1840 Oil on canvas Albany Institute of History & Art, New York The Architect's Dream 1840 Oil on canvas Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio 1841 Oil on canvas Dallas Museum of Art, Texas Sunset in the Catskills 1841 Oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts 1841 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Mill Dam on the Catskill Creek 1841 Oil on canvas Currier Museum of Art, New Hampshire Oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts 1842 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 1842 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 1842 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 1842 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. View of Sicily Oil on wood panel 18.6 x 25.7 cm Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Pennsylvania River in the Catskills 1843 Oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts Angels Ministering to Christ in the Wilderness 1843 Oil on linen Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts Roman Campagna 1843 Oil on canvas Wadsworth Atheneum, Connecticut Mount Etna from Taormina, Sicily 1843 Oil on canvas Wadsworth Atheneum, Connecticut 1844 Oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts 1844 Oil on canvas Brooklyn Museum, New York American Lake Scene 1844 Oil on canvas Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan 1844 Oil on canvas Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Missouri View of the Thames 1845 Oil on panel Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts 1845 Oil on canvas Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California 1845 Unknown Louvre, Paris Catskill Creek 1845 Oil on canvas New-York Historical Society, New York View across Frenchman's Bay from Mt. Desert Island, after a Squall 1845 Oil on canvas Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio 1845 Oil on canvas Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California 1845 Oil on canvas Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Texas 1846 Oil on canvas Brooklyn Museum, New York Arch of Nero 1846 Oil on canvas 1846 Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Oil on canvas Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Indian Pass (Essex County, New York) 1847 Oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas Prometheus Bound 1847 Oil on canvas Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California Genesee Scenery 1847 Oil on canvas Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, Rhode Island Home in the Woods 1847 Oil on canvas Reynolda House Museum of American Art, North Carolina 1848 Oil on canvas Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas Cross at Sunset Oil on canvas Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid

Undated works + ImageTitle Medium DimensionsCollection Italian Landscape (formerly The Catskills from Saugerties) Oil on board Fralin Museum of Art, Virginia Dead Rising from Tombs Oil on thin wood board Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey Italian Ruins, unfinishedOil on board Thomas Cole National Historic Site, New York Landscape, Sunrise in the Clove Oil on canvas Thomas Cole National Historic Site, New York

Preparative works