U.S. landscape painters of several generations, active 0441; 182570.
The first of them were inspired by the natural beauty of New York's Hudson River valley and Catskill Mountains. The leading figures were Thomas Cole , Asher B. Durand , and Thomas Doughty (17931856). Others, such as Frederic Edwin Church and George Inness , had studied in Europe and found inspiration in the grandiose landscapes of J.M.W. Turner . By mid century they were widely admired for their depictions of a common theme, the splendour of the untamed U.S. landscape. The name Hudson River school, applied retrospectively, is extended to artists of the same vision who painted imposing scenes of the Rocky Mountains, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite Valley. The first native school of painting in the U.S., it remained the dominant school of landscape painting throughout the 19th century.