Thomas Cole’s name does not gain instant recognition in Britain. In his adopted land of the United States, however, he is revered as the founder of American landscape artistry. A current exhibition at the National Gallery, Thomas Cole: Eden to Empire (until October 7), attempts to make the case in his favour. By and large, it succeeds.
Born in Bolton in 1801, Cole received early training as an engraver and textile designer. This served him well when the family emigrated to America in 1818. Cole was self-taught as a painter until the age of 22, when he moved to Philadelphia for classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, his only formal training. He travelled in Europe during his late 20s and early 30s before returning to the US, where he remained until dying suddenly in 1848.
