Art and Culture of the Hudson River School
Single Session Class | Registration opens 8/28/2026 9:00 AM EDT
In this session, which will include a tour of Hudson River School paintings in Vassar's Loeb Art Center, Professor Peck will explain the importance of the School in the history of American art and culture. He will highlight the works of the School's founder, Thomas Cole, and of Cole’s most accomplished follower, Frederic Edwin Church, whose 200th birthday is being celebrated this year. Notable followers of Cole such as Asher B. Durand as well as women painters of the Hudson River School such as Susie M. Barstow will also be examined, and connections will be drawn between these Hudson River School painters and later American artists, such as Georgia O'Keeffe.
H. Daniel Peck
Dan Peck is the John Guy Vassar Professor Emeritus of English at Vassar College. He is the author and editor of numerous books about American literature and art, including, most recently, Thomas Cole's Refrain (Cornell University Press, 2019).