About the Artwork
American landscape painting came of age in the mid-nineteenth century. Cole and his colleagues carefully recorded every aspect of nature, from the blazing sunset to the humblest plant, and were also instrumental in creating a new lyrical spaciousness in landscape painting. Like many other artists of his generation, Cole sought to express the spiritual in the actual. Here, a small lake, a cloudless sky, a fallen tree, and a lone Indian evoke the peace and tranquility of the American wilderness.
American Lake Scene
1844
Thomas Cole
1801-1848
American
Unknown
Oil on canvas
Framed: 27 1/8 × 33× 4 inches (68.9 × 83.8 × 10.2 cm) Unframed: 18 1/4 × 24 1/2 inches (46.4 × 62.2 cm)
Paintings
American Art before 1950
Gift of Douglas F. Roby
56.31
This work is in the public domain.
Markings
Signed and dated, at right, lower center of island: T. Cole 1844
------
Provenance
American Art Union. Young Men's Mercantile Association (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA). T. L. Ogden (New York, New York, USA)
a descendant of Ogden. John J. Bowden (Long Island, New York, USA). Douglas F. Roby (Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA)
1956-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
Please note: This section is empty
The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Suggest FeedbackPublished References
The American Art-Union. Exh. cat. New York, 1844, no. 7.
Cowdrey, Bartlett. "The American Academy and American Art Union Exhibition Record." Bulletin of the New-York Historical Society 7 (1953): p. 81.
Grigaut, Paul L. "An American Lake Scene by Thomas Cole." Bulletin of the DIA 35, 4 (1955-1956): pp. 88-90.
Woods, Willis F., ed. Paintings in the Detroit Institute of Arts: A Checklist of the Paintings Acquired Before June 1965. Detroit, 1965, p. 26.
The Painter and the New World. Exh. cat., The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Montreal, 1967, no. 318.
Cummings, Frederick J., and Charles H. Elam, eds. DIA Illustrated Handbook. Detroit, 1971, p. 139.
Huntington, David C. Art and the Excited Spirit. Exh. cat., University of Michigan of Art. Ann Arbor, 1972, p. 34, no. 39 (pl. 69).
The American Frontier: Images and Myths. Exh. cat., National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian. 1973.
Sweeney, J. Gray. Great Lakes Marine Painting of the Nineteenth Century. Exh. cat., Muskegon Museum of Art. Muskegon, MI, 1983, pp.38-39 (ill.).
Shaw, Nancy Rivard et al. American Paintings in the Detroit Institute of Arts, Vol. 1. New York, 1991, cat. 17, pp. 50-53 (ill.).
The Course of Empire. Exh. cat., National Museum of American Art. 1994.
American Beauty: Painting and Sculpture from the Detroit Institute of Arts, 1770-1920. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 2002, pp. 48-49, no. 32 (ill.).
Kindly share your feedback or any additional information, as this record is still a work in progress and may need further refinement.
Suggest FeedbackCatalogue Raisoneé
Please note: This section is empty
Credit Line for Reproduction
Thomas Cole, American Lake Scene, 1844, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Douglas F. Roby, 56.31.
Feedback
We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction or improvement.
Suggest Feedback
