• Going to Church
    George Henry Durrie
    landscape
    snow
    This rural landscape by George Henry Durrie was completed in 1853. A native of New England, Durrie often presented idyllic images of farm life, quiet refuges from America's rapid industrialization and escalating social and political tensions. This winter scene depicts members of a small town heading to church on foot and in horse-drawn sleighs.
  • 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.
  • The Farm Landing
    Edward Mitchell Bannister
    landscapes
    painting
    This painting of a private boat dock is by Edward Mitchell Bannister, one of the few paintings of this era by a person of color in the White House Collection. Bannister was originally Canadian and moved to the United States. Like James McNeil Whistler, Bannister was a Tonalist painter known for landscapes. This painting emphasizes different hues of green surrounding the small rowboat tied to a rustic dock that lies alongside a pasture.
  • Asgaard Cornfield (Corn and Oats, Gray Day)
    Rockwell Kent
    landscapes
    painting
    New York
    This painting by Rockwell Kent depicts Asgaard Farm, which he purchased in the 1920s in northeastern New York state on the Au Sable River. The dark green of the corn stalks in the foreground is matched by the dark green trees covering one of the Adirondack mountains that fill the upper portion of the painting.
  • 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.
  • Sunny Hills, California
    Thaddeus Welch
    landscapes
    California
    painting
    This landscape by painter Thaddeus Welch captures a large, prominent tree with several cows resting in its shade. Far off are the sunny hills of California where this painting gets its name and more cows wading and grazing in a small pond. Born in Indiana, Welch crossed the United States as a child and traveled extensively as an adult before settling in California.
  • Yosemite, Bridal Veil Falls
    Thomas Hill
    landscapes
    painting
    California
    National Parks
    This landscape is by painter Thomas Hill, who was among a group of artists known for their images of the unexplored western frontier. The painting is of Bridalveil Fall (referred to by Hill as Bridal Veil Falls), a waterfall in what is now Yosemite National Park in California. Despite the painting's title the landscape is expansive, with Bridalveil Fall far-off in the distance. In the foreground is a riverbank that leads to a small creek, likely Bridalveil Creek, where the waterfall runs to. A fisherman stands at center, casting a line. Born in Britain, Hill's family emigrated to the United States when he was in his teens. Hill moved to San Francisco later in life and is known for vivid paintings of California such as this one. Three of Hill's Yosemite paintings are in the White House Collection.
  • 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.
  • Niagara Falls From the Canadian Side
    Victor de Grailly
    landscapes
    Canada
    painting
    This landscape of Niagara Falls from the Canadian side was done by Victor de Grailly. The tiny figures in the foreground help create a sense of the size of the river, while a ship plies the waters near the bottom of the falls. De Grailly was a French landscape artist who studied under Jean-Victor Bertin and exhibited in Paris. This painting was acquired for the White House Collection by the White House Historical Association in 1975.
  • Eastport and Passamaquoddy Bay
    Victor de Grailly
    painting
    landscapes
    Maine
    Canada
    This landscape by Victor de Grailly was painted after a similar piece by William Henry Bartlett. De Grailly's painting captures a clear day in Eastport, Maine on the Passamaquoddy Bay, which is on the border between Maine and New Brunswick, Canada. The painting looks down upon the bay and the cliffs, hillsides, and mountains surrounding the bay. A few well-dressed people are visible in the foreground, including a fisherman, while several ships sail on the bay. De Grailly was a French landscape artist who studied under Jean-Victor Bertin and exhibited in Paris.
  • Woman Standing With an Oar
    Edmund Charles Tarbell
    landscapes
    painting
    Impressionism
    This oil painting by Edmund Charles Tarbell depicts a woman holding an oar with a body of water in the background. Tarbell studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and at the Academie Julian in Paris. He was a leading member of the Boston School, a group of American Impressionists.
  • Cliffs of Green River, Wyoming
    Thomas Moran
    landscapes
    painting
    Wyoming
    This landscape painting by Thomas Moran is of the banks of Green River, Wyoming with Castle Rock Point standing tall towards the center right of the background. There is a faint rainbow glowing behind Castle Rock with strong sunlight coming from the left side of the canvas, implying a storm behind the towering cliff that is the central focus of the painting. Although born in Britain, Moran is considered an important American artist for his paintings of the western wilderness, especially Yosemite Valley. Three of Moran's western landscapes are in the White House Collection.
  • Wild Flowers
    E. Folsom
    landscapes
    painting
    Impressionism
    This oil painting by E. Folsom depicts wildflowers overgrowing a stone-lined path. The painting is in the Impressionist style, with mountains in the distant background.
  • 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.
  • Tinicum Hillside
    Daniel Garber
    landscapes
    Impressionism
    painting
    New Hope School
    Pennsylvania
    This painting by Daniel Garber depicts a landscape on the banks of the Delaware River in Byram, New Jersey and is an example of Garber's mature art. Garber was an American Impressionist painter and member of the New Hope School.
  • The Three Tetons
    Thomas Moran
    Wyoming
    National Park
    landscapes
    painting
    This oil painting by Thomas Moran is of the Three Tetons, which are located in Wyoming. The foreground of the painting is full of dark greens and blues depicting evergreen trees and a quiet lake, while the brightly lit Tetons hover above in the upper half of the canvas. The area was established as Grand Teton National Park in 1929. Although born in Britain, Moran is considered an important American artist for his paintings of the western wilderness, especially Yosemite Valley. Three of Moran's western landscapes are in the White House Collection.
  • Princeton Landscape
    Ellen Axson Wilson
    landscapes
    painting
    hobbies
    New Jersey
    This landscape painting of Princeton, New Jersey was done by Ellen Axson Wilson, President Woodrow Wilson's first wife. An accomplished artist, she had a studio set up in the third floor of the White House.
  • View of Lake George
    Andrew Andrews
    painting
    New York
    landscapes
    This oil painting of Lake George in New York is attributed to Andrew Andrews. When this painting was first acquired for the White House, it was believed that it was created by Ambrose Andrews, an active painter in New York City. However, he rarely painted landscapes. More recently, this painting has been attributed to Andrew Andrews, who taught landscape painting in Buffalo, New York. The oval shape of the canvas makes the work distinctive, and the painting itself is warm with setting sunlight illuminating the trees, the lake itself, and a man depicted as sitting on a rock and sketching the view. This painting was acquired for the White House Collection by the White House Historical Association in 1975.
  • 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.
  • Pastoral Landscape
    Alvan Fisher
    landscapes
    painting
    This landscape of a forest and distant mountain range is by Alvan Fisher, a well-known American painter who was one of the first American-born landscape artists. Fisher's work mostly features natural elements in the northeastern United States. Completed in 1854, this painting was one of Fisher's later works. In the foreground by a stream is a small herd of cows and sheep, watched over by a man with a dog.
  • 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.
  • Lighter Relieving a Steamboat Aground
    George Caleb Bingham
    painting
    landscapes
    ships
    This painting is by George Caleb Bingham, a painter known for his depictions of the Missouri River and surrounding country. In this painting, seven men float on a raft full of cargo hoping to lighten the load of the steamer that has run aground on the distant horizon.
  • 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.
  • Florida Sunrise
    Martin Johnson Heade
    landscapes
    painting
    Florida
    This landscape of a Florida sunrise by Martin Johnson Heade was completed around 1890-1900. The landscape captures the rising sun over a river or lake with two large, prominent palm trees in the foreground. Heade was an American artist who moved from portrait painting to landscapes during his career, including a number of marine paintings made in Florida. He has a total of three paintings in the White House Collection.