Thomas Cole

…Everybody can Google it on their laptops. But over five canvases, Thomas Cole in the 1830s, just when the United States has passed the half century mark, gives a trajectory of the rise of Manche Republik, vielleicht die USA, vielleicht Rom, er sagt uns nie, es ist ein Riss und dann ist es ein ignominierter und gewaltiger Fall. Und er fragt uns eine Frage, w…

…That's just a very typical American move to be looking for the rise of the Republic, but then also the fall of the Republic or the fall of the Empire. Probably the most famous series of paintings about this. They're marvelous. They're on display in Washington, D.C. It's a series of five canvases by the Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole. It's called th…

…And we came across this series of paintings, which has intrigued me ever since, called The Course of Empire. It's by Thomas Cole. Thomas Cole is an English-born American painter. So he had a unique perspective on this new idea of... an American empire. And this is in the 1830s, mind you. Keep that in mind. And... What I like about this is this is a series…