Lake Houses c. late 19th century

Worthington Whittredge made this drawing, Lake Houses, with graphite on paper. It pictures a placid lake scene with houses nestled along the shore and mountains in the background. Whittredge was a key figure in the Hudson River School, a mid-19th century American art movement. They emphasized landscape painting and had a romantic appreciation for the American wilderness. But this was also a time of westward expansion, industrialization, and growing cities. Artists like Whittredge were negotiating a complex relationship to nature. His landscapes capture the beauty of untouched nature, but they also show signs of human presence, like these houses. This reflects a tension in American culture at the time, between an idealized vision of wilderness and the drive to develop and settle the land. To better understand Whittredge's work, we can research the history of the Hudson River School, the environmental movement of the 19th century, and the social and economic forces that shaped the American landscape.