Thomas Cole's Americas

This book situates the reader between an original, passionate retelling of the Cole's life from new sources and a deep investigation into the true meanings of his work. Delving beyond the superficial to discuss the relationship between the artist and his subjects, Thomas Cole's Americas recounts the interconnected story of art and life as told by Cole through his paintings. With 44 colour plates and 63 black-white figures, it is an original cultural history that describes the life of the creative mind that engendered Cole's art and details how his paintings incorporate specific, prophetic stories for those who would see, hear, and comprehend. Cole sought out the human histories witnessed by once-pristine landscapes; he then painted the mythic stories that told of original civilizations and primordial geologies. Throughout the book, location and artistic representation are discussed with regard to history and life, and how human history can be gleaned from the very bones of our natural environment.