• Red Roses and Green Leaves
    Martin Johnson Heade
    flowers
    Hudson River School
    painting
    still lifes
    This still life done was done by Martin Johnson Heade around 1903. The painting reveals the fine details of a small bouquet of roses, complete with many layers of petals and the sharp tips of thorns, resting atop a light tablecloth. Heade was an American artist who moved from portrait painting to landscapes during his career, including a number of marine paintings made in Florida. Two of his landscapes are also in the White House Collection.
  • Under the Palisades, in October
    Jasper Francis Cropsey
    Hudson River School
    landscapes
    painting
    This landscape is by Jasper Francis Cropsey, an American painter associated with the Hudson River School. This striking landscape is almost split between the darker cliff face, which is covered in trees whose leaves are turning, and the lighter left side of the sky and the quiet Hudson River, with a handful of boats visible on the water. Five of Cropsey's paintings are in the White House Collection.
  • Castle Rock, Nahant, Massachusetts
    Alfred Thompson Bricher
    painting
    landscapes
    Massachusetts
    Hudson River School
    seascapes
    This landscape by Alfred Thompson Bricher is almost twice as wide as it is high, underscoring the vastness of the coast. The brown rock that rises on the left horizon is Castle Rock at Nahant, a peninsula near Lynn, Massachusetts. On the right side of the horizon stands a lighthouse on the small island of Egg Rock. Bricher is associated with the Hudson River School in American art and is known for seascapes and marine landscapes.
  • Deer by a Lake
    Jasper Francis Cropsey
    landscapes
    Hudson River School
    painting
    This landscape is by Jasper Francis Cropsey, an American painter associated with the Hudson River School. The painting is a grand landscape of dark cliffs and fall trees with a lake running through the middle of the canvas. A grown, male deer stands on the left shore of the lake, giving the painting its name. Five of Cropsey's paintings are in the White House Collection.
  • Hudson River Scene
    Shepard Alonzo Mount
    landscapes
    painting
    New York
    Hudson River School
    This oil painting of a scene on the Hudson River is by Shepard Alonzo Mount. A large, rocky island sits in the center of the canvas. The rock face is shadowed in the morning light. In the center foreground, two American Indian figures appear, with the man standing and holding a bow next to a woman in a red dress, seated on the ground. Mount began his career as a carriage maker before enrolling at the National Academy of Design. Though he is best known for portraiture, he enjoyed painting landscapes. He is the older brother of acclaimed artist and Hudson River School contemporary William Sidney Mount.
  • West Point Near Garrisons
    Robert Havell, Jr.
    landscapes
    painting
    New York
    Hudson River School
    military
    This painting was done by British-born artist Robert Havell, Jr. The painting depicts the buildings of the West Point military academy from across the Hudson River. Several boats ply the water in the center of the painting, while in the lower left corner a woman carries a basket and follows two cows walking down a dirt road. Havell is considered part of the Hudson River School and he best known as being the primary engraver for John James Audubon's Birds of America (1827-38), which brought him from Britain to the United States.
  • Niagara Falls
    John Frederick Kensett
    Hudson River School
    painting
    landscapes
    This oval-shaped landscape of Niagara Falls, New York was painted by John Frederick Kensett circa 1852-1854. Niagara Falls is painted from a distance with a high rising cloud of mist rising in the center of the painting. Born in Connecticut, Kensett was known for his paintings of New York and New England and his works are associated with the Luminist style, an offshoot of the Hudson River School. Kensett was one of the founding members of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.
  • Niagara Falls
    John Frederick Kensett
    Hudson River School
    landscapes
    painting
    This oval-shaped landscape of Niagara Falls, New York was painted by John Frederick Kensett circa 1852-1854. Niagara Falls is painted from a distance with a high rising cloud of mist rising in the center of the painting. Born in Connecticut, Kensett was known for his paintings of New York and New England and his works are associated with the Luminist style, an offshoot of the Hudson River School. Kensett was one of the founding members of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.
  • Niagara Falls
    John Frederick Kensett
    Hudson River School
    landscapes
    painting
    This oval-shaped landscape of Niagara Falls, New York was painted by John Frederick Kensett circa 1852-1854. Niagara Falls is painted from a distance with a high rising cloud of mist rising in the center of the painting. Born in Connecticut, Kensett was known for his paintings of New York and New England and his works are associated with the Luminist style, an offshoot of the Hudson River School. Kensett was one of the founding members of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bates Littlehales photographed the framed painting in March 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration.
  • Lake Among the Hills (Lake Mohonk)
    William Hart
    landscapes
    painting
    Hudson River School
    New York
    This landscape of Mohonk Lake is by William Hart, a painter associated with the Hudson River School. Mohonk Lake is a small lake in Marbletown, Ulster County, New York near the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. Hart was born in Britain but moved to the United States as a child. He began his career painting portraits but found more success with landscape painting. This painting was acquired for the White House Collection by the White House Historical Association in 1976.
  • Autumn Landscape on the Hudson River
    Jasper Francis Cropsey
    painting
    landscapes
    Hudson River School
    New York
    This landscape is by Jasper Francis Cropsey, an American painter associated with the Hudson River School. The canvas is almost twice as wide as it is high, conveying a broad scale of the scene where the sun sets on the other side of the Hudson River. There are two men by a rowboat near the center of the painting, the only human figures in the pastoral scene. Five of Cropsey's paintings are in the White House Collection.
  • Washington, D.C.
    Albert Bierstadt
    landscapes
    flags
    Washington, D.C.
    South Lawn
    South Grounds
    Hudson River School
    painting
    This landscape of Washington, D.C. by Hudson River School artist Albert Bierstadt features the South Lawn with a vast, low-lying field beyond. Tiber Creek and the Potomac River, along with Long Bridge, push towards the horizon in the background. Standing prominently in the painting are a fountain and flag pole with the American flag raised at full mast, in a slight breeze, just right of center and extending nearly the height of the canvas. The fountain was from 1858 and was the first of its kind installed on the White House Grounds. It featured two tiers with sea serpents entwined around the fountain's shaft. The fountain was removed in 1869, the water jets having never worked properly. Bierstadt was renowned for his depictions of the American West and documenting Westward Expansion in the late 19th century. There are six pieces by Bierstadt in the White House Collection.
  • Old Faithful
    Albert Bierstadt
    painting
    landscapes
    National Park
    Hudson River School
    Wyoming
    This painting of the geyser Old Faithful was done by Albert Bierstadt. It is believed this scene was painted from sketches made by Bierstadt following a visit to Yellowstone National Park in July 1881. President Ulysses S. Grant established the park on March 1, 1872 with the signing of the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act. This law made Yellowstone the world's first national park. Bierstadt was among the Hudson River School artists of the 19th century. Bierstadt was renowned for his depictions of the American West and documenting Westward Expansion in the late 19th century. There are six pieces by Bierstadt in the White House Collection.
  • Thatcher's Island off Rockport, Massachusetts
    Worthington Whittredge
    landscapes
    painting
    Hudson River School
    Massachusetts
    This landscape of a rocky shoreline is by Worthington Whittredge (often referred to as Thomas Worthington Whittredge), a painter associated with the Hudson River School movement. The location is Thacher Island (referred to as Thatcher's Island by Whittredge), a small island off the coast of Rockport in Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Whittredge was an American painter who became known for his landscapes of the Great Plains and the west. Two of his paintings are in the White House Collection. Berhie Hill galleries offered the painting to White House, and the White House Historical Association partially funded the donation.
  • Butterfly
    Albert Bierstadt
    painting
    Hudson River School
    This painting is by Albert Bierstadt, who was among the Hudson River School artists of the 19th century. Bierstadt was renowned for his depictions of the American West; however, this painting strays from Bierstadt's usual romantic landscapes, several of which are also in the White House Collection. The painting is of a butterfly, created by brushing pigments on a piece of paper, folding the paper, and then stroking a palette knife on the other side of the fold. A bright, colorful butterfly takes shape when unfolded and with drawn antennae. Bierstadt made numerous, quick paintings like this butterfly for acquaintances he met. Each of his butterfly paintings are unique due to how they were created.
  • Niagara Falls
    John Frederick Kensett
    landscapes
    New York
    Hudson River School
    This oval-shaped landscape of Niagara Falls, New York is by John Frederick Kensett. Niagara Falls is painted from a distance with a high rising cloud of mist rising in the center of the painting. Born in Connecticut, Kensett was known for his paintings of New York and New England and his works are associated with the Luminist style, an offshoot of the Hudson River School. Kensett was one of the founding members of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  • In the White Mountains, New Hampshire
    William Louis Sonntag
    New Hampshire
    landscapes
    painting
    Hudson River School
    This landscape of the White Mountains in New Hampshire is by American painter William Louis Sonntag, an artist associated with the Hudson River School movement. The White Mountains are part of the northern range of the Appalachian Mountains. Sonntag depicts two men conversing in the foreground of the painting, surrounded by rocks and trees. The background of the painting shows fields and mountains, growing larger the farther away they appear. Sonntag spent many summers in New Hampshire making sketches to be the basis of his landscapes. This painting was acquired for the White House Collection by the White House Historical Association in 1976.
  • Rutland Falls, Vermont
    Frederic Edwin Church
    landscapes
    Vermont
    painting
    Hudson River School
    This landscape by Frederic Edwin Church was completed in 1848. The painting captures a stream or river in Rutland, Vermont. The stream flows over a small waterfall with a fisherman on the distant left bank and a sawmill on the right. Church was a significant figure in the Hudson River School, being taught by the founder, Thomas Cole. This painting was acquired for the White House Collection by the White House Historical Association in 1976.
  • The Indian's Vespers
    A.B. Durand
    landscapes
    painting
    Hudson River School
    This landscape by A.B. Durand (also known as Asher Brown Durand), an artist associated with the Hudson River School movement, was completed in 1847. The painting looks down upon a dense forest, cliff, and, just beyond, the setting sun over water. At the edge of the cliff is a male American Indian with his arms raised facing the setting sun, prompting the title of the painting.
  • The Rainbow in the Berkshire Hills
    George Inness
    landscapes
    painting
    Hudson River School
    Massachusetts
    This landscape by American painter George Inness captures receding storm clouds and an emerging rainbow over a farm and dirt road. A heavily-laden hay cart drawn by oxen appears in the lower right corner, with a boy seated atop the hay while the farmer drives the oxen. Inness was a product of the Hudson River School but also influenced by the Barbizon School of painting in France. Inness was one of the pre-eminent American landscape painters of his time. Two of his landscapes are in the White House Collection.
  • Hudson River Highlands
    John William Casilear
    landscapes
    drawings
    Hudson River School
    New York
    This drawing was done by John William Casilear. The rough sketch depicts two hills opposing one another on either side of the Hudson River. Casilear was an American landscape artist who belonged to the Hudson River School and was also trained as an engraver.
  • A Mountain Glimpse
    Jasper Francis Cropsey
    landscapes
    painting
    Hudson River School
    This landscape is by Jasper Francis Cropsey, an American painter associated with the Hudson River School. The landscape depicts a low-lying forest with a clearing seen through a gap in the trees. Two people stand far-off on the other side of the clearing, the only two human figures in the scene. Of the five paintings of Cropsey's that are in the White House Collection, this is the only one that does not have an autumn theme.
  • Storm Clouds
    Albert Bierstadt
    landscapes
    Hudson River School
    painting
    This landscape of dark clouds is by painter Albert Bierstadt. Bierstadt was among the Hudson River School artists of the 19th century. The clouds are bright white and billow high over the canvas with dark gray and aqua clouds, perhaps storm clouds, in the lower foreground. Bierstadt was renowned for his depictions of the American West and documenting Westward Expansion in the late 19th century. There are six pieces by Bierstadt in the White House Collection.
  • The Mellow Autumn Time
    Jasper Francis Cropsey
    landscapes
    painting
    Hudson River School
    This landscape is by Jasper Francis Cropsey, an American painter associated with the Hudson River School. The painting captures a small scene on a riverbank, with a man pushing a rowboat in or out of the water. The river is shallow with a rickety bridge over it at the horizon. Beyond the central scene, the painting opens to a grand landscape of mountains and cliffs. Five of Cropsey's paintings are in the White House Collection.
  • Old Ferryboat at McCall's Ferry
    Herman Herzog
    landscapes
    painting
    Hudson River School
    ships
    This landscape of a ferry, perhaps the historic McCalls Ferry Farm on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, was painted by Herman Herzog. The painting depicts men guiding a ferry loaded with horses to a landing along the river bank, with mountains looming on the other side of the water. Herzog was a German-born artist who studied at the Dusseldorf Academy before settling in Philadelphia. He is often considered a part of the Hudson River School movement. This painting was acquired for the White House Collection by the White House Historical Association in 1975.