Storm King on the Hudson

The Hudson River was a beloved subject for American landscape painters, and this particular site was popular with artists in part due to the dramatic storms that gathered along the ridge of Storm King Mountain. By 1866, the river had become a major commercial route for trade as well as tourism, providing stone and other materials needed to build a rapidly expanding New York City further south. This was the point where the major water routes from the north met the railhead for the trains heading south, and commodities were offloaded from ships and onto trains. Samuel Colman painted both small sailboats and larger steam-powered tourist launches and freight boats, focusing on the changes taking place in commerce and leisure activities on the river. The painter's nod to the transition from sail to steam interjects a modern note about progress in a classic landscape.