Mountain Lake 1887

Thomas Hill made this painting of a mountain lake using oil on canvas. He likely built up the image in layers, glazing the paint to achieve luminosity, a painstaking process that demands a certain patience. The Hudson River School painters, like Hill, were deeply influenced by the European Romantic tradition, and by their own experiences of the American landscape. This canvas is a testament to the land’s majesty, but it is also a product of the economic forces shaping the country in the nineteenth century. Think of the labor and extraction involved in producing the paint itself, and in framing the canvas. Landscapes like this one were part of a larger project of nation-building, encouraging westward expansion by idealizing the natural world. Consider this painting in relation to the growth of industry and the exploitation of natural resources. The art market, like any other market, is subject to the flows of capital. What is "natural" is often tied to human intervention, and is a product of social and economic circumstances.