American Culture in the Age of Jackson

The Hudson River School: #1: “IN NATURE’S WONDERLAND”  Thomas Dougherty, 1835 He was one of the earliest American artists to use small figures dwarfted by the landscape  denotes man’s place as part and parcel of nature. * A surrender of the self in the face of God’s handiwork [an act of devotion]. The figure’s solitary state and absorption in the environment, with his back turned to us, reinforces the contemplative silence that surrounds him. He laid the groundwork for public acceptance of American landscape paintings as valuable and significant.

Background These artists captured the power of nature Paint the nation’s most spectacular and undeveloped areas [the new Garden of Eden]. Nature was the best source of wisdom & fulfillment. They created visual embodiments of the ideals of the Transcendentalists. * Art is the agent of moral & spiritual transformation. #1: “IN NATURE’S WONDERLAND”  Thomas Dougherty, 1835 He was one of the earliest American artists to use small figures dwarfted by the landscape  denotes man’s place as part and parcel of nature. * A surrender of the self in the face of God’s handiwork [an act of devotion]. The figure’s solitary state and absorption in the environment, with his back turned to us, reinforces the contemplative silence that surrounds him. He laid the groundwork for public acceptance of American landscape paintings as valuable and significant.

Characteristics of the Hudson River School A new art for a new land. Paint grand, scenic vistas. Humans are an insignificant [even non-existent] part of the picture. Symbol of the school  a broken tree stump #1: “IN NATURE’S WONDERLAND”  Thomas Dougherty, 1835 He was one of the earliest American artists to use small figures dwarfted by the landscape  denotes man’s place as part and parcel of nature. * A surrender of the self in the face of God’s handiwork [an act of devotion]. The figure’s solitary state and absorption in the environment, with his back turned to us, reinforces the contemplative silence that surrounds him. He laid the groundwork for public acceptance of American landscape paintings as valuable and significant.

In Nature’s Wonderland Thomas Doughty, 1835 #2 - #3  THOMAS COLE The “Father” of the HRS. Nobody had painted “America” before these artists. The Hudson Valley from the Catskills through the Adirondacks. America as Arcadia [Eden].

Niagara Frederic Church, 1857 #4: “THE OXBOW”  Thomas Cole, 1836 The dramatic clouds over the wilderness to the left speak of the uncontrolled power of nature. Tension between wilderness and garden [savagery and civilization]. OXBOW  in the shape of a ? * Where is this headed?  reflected the debate among Americans. * Would the wilderness disappear completely for the sake of civilization, or would the two exist in perpetual tension with each other?

View of the Catskills, Early Autumn Thomas Cole, 1837 #4: “THE OXBOW”  Thomas Cole, 1836 The dramatic clouds over the wilderness to the left speak of the uncontrolled power of nature. Tension between wilderness and garden [savagery and civilization]. OXBOW  in the shape of a ? * Where is this headed?  reflected the debate among Americans. * Would the wilderness disappear completely for the sake of civilization, or would the two exist in perpetual tension with each other?

The Early 19c: The Creation of an American Culture

Historical Context 19th Century America Unrestrained growth in U.S. 1803-1853: area of U.S. increases from 846,000 to 2,181,000. 1800-1850: population of U.S. increases from 5 million to over 23 million Westward expansion Technological advancements (i.e. steel plow, telegraph, cotton gin) Transportation Improvements (canals, railroads)

An “American” Literature America began developing its own distinct literary tradition. American writers were influenced by their English heritage and s not totally original in form or content; however, there was an "American" quality about the new literature.

An “American” Literature Herman Melville (author of Moby Dick), commenting on the risks American writers must take, stated: "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation."

Cultural Nationalism Education  The “Virtuous Citizen” An American form of English Noah Webster

The Sketch Book, 1819-20 “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” Cultural Nationalism A well-defined American literature Washington Irving The Sketch Book, 1819-20 “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper was a master of historical fiction Along with Irving, he was one of the few writers who could make a living by writing.

James Fenimore Cooper Cooper wrote a series of five novels called the Leatherstocking Tales, which includes The Last of the Mohicans, focusing on the adventures of Natty Bumppo, a white man living among Native Americans in the forests of the American Northeast Native Americans are portrayed as “noble savages” in Cooper’s work.

The American Renaissance Between 1840 and 1855, in New England and especially in Boston A group of American writers produced a remarkable body of "classic" American literature Published during this period was Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (1850), Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851), Henry David Thoreau’s Walden (1854), and Leaves of Grass (1855) by Walt Whitman.