Studio and Viewshed

Studio and Viewshed. . , Although Frederic Church painted at his Hudson Valley farm from the time he purchased it in 1860, he did not build a studio here until about 1864-65. On the site where you are standing, he erected a "plain but ample” 24-foot-square, wood-framed, hip-roofed structure, featuring a large north window and a porch on the west. Here Church sketched and painted, completing many of his major works., The grandeur of this view of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains was a constant inspiration for Church. In 1867, however, he noted modestly to a friend: "I am appalled when I look at the magnificent scenery which encircles my clumsy studio, and then glance at the painted oilcloth on my easel.” Church created hundreds of sketches for his new house on the hill in his studio. When he added a studio wing to his house in the late 1880s, Church dismantled this studio., The panoramic view you see here is one of the most celebrated in American art and landscape history. Protecting the lands beyond Olana State Historic Site will ensure that future generations will also enjoy this breathtaking scenery., Photo captions , Top: Looking Southwest over Church's Farm from Sienghenberg. Arthur Parton, 1864Church transformed featureless farmland into the majestic Olana landscape., Bottom Right:View from Church Hill, Frederic E. Church, ca. 1870. This quick sketch captures the sublime effects of the scenes the artist saw daily from his dtudio., Bottom Left: This distant blurry photograph , ca. 1880, is one of two known images of the studio )on the center right of the photograph). Note the saplings and young plantings in the park.