Autumn Landscape (Mount Chocorua) 1828

Editor: Thomas Cole's "Autumn Landscape (Mount Chocorua)" from 1828, rendered in oil, is captivating. The warm colors of fall are striking, but what really catches my eye is the lone figure almost swallowed up by the vastness of the landscape. It feels intentionally placed to make a point. How do you interpret this work? Curator: This painting speaks volumes about the cultural moment in which it was created. Cole, and the Hudson River School, weren't just painting pretty pictures; they were constructing a visual argument for the American wilderness as a source of national identity and spiritual renewal, a counterpoint to increasingly industrialised Europe. What do you notice about where this is hung in our galleries? Editor: Well, it is hung right next to Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Church paintings, all landscapes. Why does that matter? Curator: Because we are visually establishing the connection to the idea of manifest destiny and western expansion in this period. The scale and dramatic composition, are devices Cole uses to elicit feelings of awe and even the sublime – the idea that nature’s grandeur can overwhelm the individual. The inclusion of a figure actually reinforces that; rather than dominating nature, they’re dwarfed by it. Consider what these landscapes exclude; there are very few Indigenous figures in the art of the Hudson River School, despite the fact these were their homelands. Editor: That's a powerful point. I hadn't considered the implications of who isn't present in these landscapes. It makes me think about whose vision of America was being promoted, and at whose expense. Curator: Precisely! Understanding that absences, as well as presences, gives these landscapes added significance and highlights their connection to contemporary debates. It's a reminder that art is never truly neutral. Editor: Absolutely. Now I see the landscape as much more than a pretty picture. It makes me want to examine everything more critically. Curator: That is a great takeaway! Question everything, and especially what is absent.