Frederic Church (1826–1900) was America’s preeminent landscape artist of the 19th century, whose “great paintings” of the 1850s and 1860s (Niagara, Heart of the Andes, Icebergs) achieved international acclaim. Beginning in 1860, he spent the last 40 years creating Olana in Hudson, New York, a 250-acre designed landscape in which his family residence and farm are sited and whose panoramic views of the Hudson Valley and Catskills are integral elements.
Today, Olana is the most intact artist’s environment in the United States and a National Historic Landmark. Sean Sawyer, president of the Olana Partnership, provides an overview of Church’s creation and leads a virtual tour of the landscape and main house, with its rich collection of fine and decorative arts that reflect the global reach of Church's travels and vision. He also shares the remarkable story of the saving of Olana, a landmark in American preservation history.
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