Visit to Olana

I visited Olana, Frederick Church's estate in Hudson, New York, over the weekend with friends. What a fabulous home! The architecture was inspired by their trip to the middle east in the 1800's. Church had a hand in every part of the design, including the laying out and colors of the tiles, bricks, and paint. The interior furnishing are eclectic, but are mostly decorated with 10,000 pieces of items collected during the family's travels to the middle east. It is considered one of his major works of art.

Frederick Church studied under Thomas Cole, who lived in a town nearby. He is one of the famous Hudson River Painters, known for his realistic style of landscape painting during the early 19th century. Many of his best works can be found in the Wadsworth Museum in Hartford, CT. The view from the front of the home overlooks the Hudson River. Church dug out land directly in front of the house down an embankment to create a pond in the shape of the river. He also planted trees and landscaped the property.

Hudson River Day Trip

Above: From West Point looking north.

I went out to Peekskill, NY to visit some friends of mine one day. It was a nice day, but somewhat hazy. The river is surrounded by gorgeous tree covered hills, and the views were spectacular. We toured West Point and had lunch in the inn on the campus. We sat out on the veranda overlooking the river. It was perfect.

Charlie took us up one side of the river and down the other side. We stopped in Cold Springs and walked around the dock and boardwalk. What a great place for a cool drink while looking over the river towards West Point and the marina.


At left: From Cold Springs looking across at West Point to the south.

I'm looking forward to returning this fall to see the town just alittle bit north of here where the Hudson River School painters painted. I hear that it's quite a nice place to visit.

There are tons of painting opportunities all along the river. The docks are interesting and the people hanging out along the river with their dogs and families would make good subjects. Then, there's the railroad and the small shops that line the main streets in the small towns along the rail line.