Art and God
1820s - 1840s

Illustration from an 1875 edition of Washington Irving’s Sketch-Book, originally published c. 1820.

What meaning did people find in the paintings of the Hudson River school when they were still new? At the height of the Hudson River school’s popularity the paintings were meant to celebrate the presence of God in nature. The artists saw the natural environment of the United States as a divine expression. At the time, Americans sought spiritual meaning in art and literature and the landscapes reflected these interests. The Hudson River school’s paintings changed the way that Americans viewed the nature around them, associating nature with God. 

Could artists pass on divine messages and assist in the nation’s spiritual search? In the first half of the 19th century, some people thought so. Although these landscapes were not meant to tell a story, they were seen as spiritual statements. 


Ancient Dutch church, Hudson Valley Region, c. 1841

Camp Meeting of the Methodists in North America, c. 1819.

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Ruined Tower

This painting created by Thomas Cole in the 1830s was intended to be about the nature of God. Cole gives us a view of a ruined tower on a stormy day. The traveler in the foreground is very small compared to the tower, the ocean, and the sky. The ruined tower and the shipwreck on the shore suggest that people and their civilizations can be overwhelmed by the power of nature. 

If nature is evidence of God’s presence, as Cole believed, what does this painting say about God? And, how might this painting have affected the way 19th century Americans viewed nature or God?