Overview

Thomas Cole, an internationally renowned artist, centered his art and life in Catskill, New York. From his vantage point near the village, he cast his eyes on the wonders of the Catskill Mountains and the swiftly flowing Catskill Creek. These landscapes were sources of enduring inspiration for him. Over twenty years, Cole painted one view of the Catskill Mountains at least ten times. Each work represents the mountains from the perspective of a wide river bend near Catskill, New York. No other scene commanded this much of the artist's attention. Cole's Catskill Creek paintings, which include works central to American nineteenth-century landscape art, are an integral series. In Thomas Cole's Refrain, H. Daniel Peck explores the patterns of change and permanence in the artist's depiction of a scene he knew first-hand. Peck shows how the paintings express the artist's deep attachment to place and region while illuminating his expansive imagination. Thomas Cole's Refrain shows how Cole's Catskill Creek paintings, while reflecting concepts such as the stages of life, opened a more capacious vision of experience than his narrative-driven series, such as The Voyage of Life. Relying on rich visual evidence provided by paintings, topographic maps, and contemporary photographs, Peck argues that human experience is conveyed through Cole's embedding into a stable, recurring landscape key motifs that tell stories of their own. The motifs include enigmatic human figures, mysterious architectural forms, and particular trees and plants. Peck finds significant continuities—personal and conceptual—running throughout the Catskill Creek paintings, continuities that cast new light on familiar works and bring significance to ones never before seen by many viewers.

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9781501733079

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Thomas Cole's Refrain deftly illuminates the artist's lesser known series of Catskill Creek paintings by tracking down sketches, repeated views, site-specific formations, and emblematic motifs. Peck combines a sensitivity to the poetics of place with a demanding attentiveness to telling visual details. With Peck's interdisciplinary eye, each painting becomes a revelation. -- Janice Simon, Lamar Dodd School of Art In Thomas Cole's Refrain, H. Daniel Peck moves convincingly from a careful study of the artist's writings to astute analysis of the ten paintings of Catskill Creek that Cole made between 1827 and shortly before his death in 1848. The result of years of research and the study of Cole's sketches and paintings, this is an impressively argued, exceptionally well-written and handsomely illustrated book. -- David Schuyler, Franklin & Marshall College, and author of <I>Sanctified Landscape</I> A stunning reevaluation of one of Thomas Cole's most beloved locales, in image and in text, H. Daniel Peck's insightful analysis captures the artist's musings, concerns, and deep admiration for the Hudson River Valley. Peck's contribution to the field of American landscape is timely and significant. -- Nancy Siegel, Towson University H. Daniel Peck takes his readers on a careful tour of the mysteries informing Cole's Catskill Creek images, peeling back their layers of social commentary and their-often 'hidden'-anxieties and aspirations. The painter who emerges from Peck's pages is not the transatlantic Cole of recent scholarship, but a more local self who imagines the Catskill region as an entire globe within a smaller territory. -- Bryan Wolf, Stanford University Writing with characteristic precision, eloquence, and authority, and drawing on his vast knowledge of American art, literature, and history, H. Daniel Peck presents a new, convincing interpretation of the landscape painter and British emigre Cole, seeing him as both critic of American industrialization and passionate patriot. Peck offers a captivating story with myriad fresh insights and uncanny contemporary relevance. -- Adrienne Baxter Bell, Marymount Manhattan College, Author of <I>George Inness and the Visionary Landscape</I> H. Daniel Peck's treatment of Thomas Cole's Catskill pictures is a gem of a book. It is compact yet substantial, dense in detail yet lucid in exposition. -- John Wilmerding, Princeton University, and author of <I>Signs of the Artist</I> Thoroughly researched and beautifully written. * The Magazine Antiques *

Thomas Cole's Refrain deftly illuminates the artist's lesser known series of Catskill Creek paintings by tracking down sketches, repeated views, site-specific formations, and emblematic motifs. Peck combines a sensitivity to the poetics of place with a demanding attentiveness to telling visual details. With Peck's interdisciplinary eye, each painting becomes a revelation. -- Janice Simon, Lamar Dodd School of Art In Thomas Cole's Refrain, H. Daniel Peck moves convincingly from a careful study of the artist's writings to astute analysis of the ten paintings of Catskill Creek that Cole made between 1827 and shortly before his death in 1848. The result of years of research and the study of Cole's sketches and paintings, this is an impressively argued, exceptionally well-written and handsomely illustrated book. -- David Schuyler, Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor of the Humanities and American Studies, Franklin & Marshall College, and author of <I>Sanctified Landscape</I> A stunning reevaluation of one of Thomas Cole's most beloved locales, in image and in text, Dan Peck's insightful analysis captures the artist's musings, concerns, and deep admiration for the Hudson River Valley. Peck's contribution to the field of American landscape is timely and significant. -- Nancy Siegel, Professor of Art History, Towson University Daniel H. Peck takes his readers on a careful tour of the mysteries informing Cole's Catskill River images, peeling back their layers of social commentary and their-often 'hidden'-anxieties and aspirations. The painter who emerges from Peck's pages is not the transatlantic Cole of recent scholarship, but a more local self who imagines the Catskill region as an entire globe within a smaller territory. -- Bryan Wolf, Jones Professor in American Art and Culture, Emeritus, Stanford University Writing with characteristic precision, eloquence, and authority, and drawing on his vast knowledge of American art, literature, and history, Dan Peck presents a new, convincing interpretation of the landscape painter and British emigre Cole, seeing him as both critic of American industrialization and passionate patriot. Peck offers a captivating story with myriad fresh insights and uncanny contemporary relevance. -- Adrienne Baxter Bell, Professor of Art History, Marymount Manhattan College, Author of <I>George Inness and the Visionary Landscape</I> Dan Peck's treatment of Thomas Cole's Catskill pictures is a gem of small book. It is compact yet substantial, dense in detail yet lucid in exposition. -- John Wilmerding, Professor Emeritus in Art History, Princeton University, and author of <I>Signs of the Artist</I>

Thomas Cole's Refrain deftly illuminates the artist's lesser known series of Catskill Creek paintings by tracking down sketches, repeated views, site-specific formations, and emblematic motifs. Peck combines a sensitivity to the poetics of place with a demanding attentiveness to telling visual details. With Peck's interdisciplinary eye, each painting becomes a revelation. -- Janice Simon, Lamar Dodd School of Art In Thomas Cole's Refrain, H. Daniel Peck moves convincingly from a careful study of the artist's writings to astute analysis of the ten paintings of Catskill Creek that Cole made between 1827 and shortly before his death in 1848. The result of years of research and the study of Cole's sketches and paintings, this is an impressively argued, exceptionally well-written and handsomely illustrated book. -- David Schuyler, Franklin & Marshall College, and author of <I>Sanctified Landscape</I> A stunning reevaluation of one of Thomas Cole's most beloved locales, in image and in text, Dan Peck's insightful analysis captures the artist's musings, concerns, and deep admiration for the Hudson River Valley. Peck's contribution to the field of American landscape is timely and significant. -- Nancy Siegel, Towson University H. Daniel Peck takes his readers on a careful tour of the mysteries informing Cole's Catskill River images, peeling back their layers of social commentary and their-often 'hidden'-anxieties and aspirations. The painter who emerges from Peck's pages is not the transatlantic Cole of recent scholarship, but a more local self who imagines the Catskill region as an entire globe within a smaller territory. -- Bryan Wolf, Stanford University Writing with characteristic precision, eloquence, and authority, and drawing on his vast knowledge of American art, literature, and history, Dan Peck presents a new, convincing interpretation of the landscape painter and British emigre Cole, seeing him as both critic of American industrialization and passionate patriot. Peck offers a captivating story with myriad fresh insights and uncanny contemporary relevance. -- Adrienne Baxter Bell, Marymount Manhattan College, Author of <I>George Inness and the Visionary Landscape</I> Dan Peck's treatment of Thomas Cole's Catskill pictures is a gem of a book. It is compact yet substantial, dense in detail yet lucid in exposition. -- John Wilmerding, Princeton University, and author of <I>Signs of the Artist</I>

In Thomas Cole's Refrain, H. Daniel Peck moves convincingly from a careful study of the artist's writings to astute analysis of the ten paintings of Catskill Creek that Cole made between 1827 and shortly before his death in 1848. The result of years of research and the study of Cole's sketches and paintings, this is an impressively argued, exceptionally well-written and handsomely illustrated book. -- David Schuyler, Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor of the Humanities and American Studies, Franklin & Marshall College, and author of <I>Sanctified Landscape</I> A stunning reevaluation of one of Thomas Cole's most beloved locales, in image and in text, Dan Peck's insightful analysis captures the artist's musings, concerns, and deep admiration for the Hudson River Valley. Peck's contribution to the field of American landscape is timely and significant. -- Nancy Siegel, Professor of Art History, Towson University Daniel H. Peck takes his readers on a careful tour of the mysteries informing Cole's Catskill River images, peeling back their layers of social commentary and their-often 'hidden'-anxieties and aspirations. The painter who emerges from Peck's pages is not the transatlantic Cole of recent scholarship, but a more local self who imagines the Catskill region as an entire globe within a smaller territory. -- Bryan Wolf, Jones Professor in American Art and Culture, Emeritus, Stanford University Writing with characteristic precision, eloquence, and authority, and drawing on his vast knowledge of American art, literature, and history, Dan Peck presents a new, convincing interpretation of the landscape painter and British emigre Cole, seeing him as both critic of American industrialization and passionate patriot. Peck offers a captivating story with myriad fresh insights and uncanny contemporary relevance. -- Adrienne Baxter Bell, Professor of Art History, Marymount Manhattan College, Author of <I>George Inness and the Visionary Landscape</I> Dan Peck's treatment of Thomas Cole's Catskill pictures is a gem of small book. It is compact yet substantial, dense in detail yet lucid in exposition. -- John Wilmerding, Professor Emeritus in Art History, Princeton University, and author of <I>Signs of the Artist</I>

Thomas Cole's Refrain deftly illuminates the artist's lesser known series of Catskill Creek paintings by tracking down sketches, repeated views, site-specific formations, and emblematic motifs. Peck combines a sensitivity to the poetics of place with a demanding attentiveness to telling visual details. With Peck's interdisciplinary eye, each painting becomes a revelation. -- Janice Simon, Lamar Dodd School of Art In Thomas Cole's Refrain, H. Daniel Peck moves convincingly from a careful study of the artist's writings to astute analysis of the ten paintings of Catskill Creek that Cole made between 1827 and shortly before his death in 1848. The result of years of research and the study of Cole's sketches and paintings, this is an impressively argued, exceptionally well-written and handsomely illustrated book. -- David Schuyler, Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor of the Humanities and American Studies, Franklin & Marshall College, and author of <I>Sanctified Landscape</I> A stunning reevaluation of one of Thomas Cole's most beloved locales, in image and in text, Dan Peck's insightful analysis captures the artist's musings, concerns, and deep admiration for the Hudson River Valley. Peck's contribution to the field of American landscape is timely and significant. -- Nancy Siegel, Professor of Art History, Towson University H. Daniel Peck takes his readers on a careful tour of the mysteries informing Cole's Catskill River images, peeling back their layers of social commentary and their-often 'hidden'-anxieties and aspirations. The painter who emerges from Peck's pages is not the transatlantic Cole of recent scholarship, but a more local self who imagines the Catskill region as an entire globe within a smaller territory. -- Bryan Wolf, Jones Professor in American Art and Culture, Emeritus, Stanford University Writing with characteristic precision, eloquence, and authority, and drawing on his vast knowledge of American art, literature, and history, Dan Peck presents a new, convincing interpretation of the landscape painter and British emigre Cole, seeing him as both critic of American industrialization and passionate patriot. Peck offers a captivating story with myriad fresh insights and uncanny contemporary relevance. -- Adrienne Baxter Bell, Professor of Art History, Marymount Manhattan College, Author of <I>George Inness and the Visionary Landscape</I> Dan Peck's treatment of Thomas Cole's Catskill pictures is a gem of a small book. It is compact yet substantial, dense in detail yet lucid in exposition. -- John Wilmerding, Professor Emeritus in Art History, Princeton University, and author of <I>Signs of the Artist</I>

Author Information

H. Daniel Peck is John Guy Vassar, Jr., Professor Emeritus of English at Vassar College. He has chaired the Modern Language Association's Division on Nineteenth-century American Literature and has published and spoken widely on the literary and visual art of the Romantic era. Peck is the author and editor of several books, including Thoreau's Morning Work.

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