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The Roundtable

Cole 200: The Trip that Changed American Art

By Joe Donahue
Published October 3, 2025 at 11:13 AM EDT
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The month of October 2025 marks the 200th Anniversary of the first presentation of paintings of the Hudson River Valley and Catskill Mountains by Thomas Cole (1801-1848) – a presentation that changed the course of American art. The display of three paintings took place from October 26 to November 4,1825, in New York City – in the windows of Colman’s bookstore on Broadway near Fulton Street in Manhattan.

The exhibition launched Thomas Cole’s career and gave birth to what is now known as the Hudson River School of landscape painting. Cole’s work in turn gave America a visual identity, reflected in the concept “America the beautiful” and still celebrated today. We will talk about that celebration this morning.

Maura O’Shea, Executive Director of the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, and Jonathan Palmer, Greene County Historian.

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The Roundtable thomas cole national historic siteCole 200: The Trip that Changed American Artarthudson river school
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Joe Donahue
Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.
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