Heart of Art Tour
prepared by Hudson Valley Tourism
www.travelhudsonvalley.org

Kykuit
 

Start your tour at Ever Rest, the home and studio of Jasper Cropsey, one of the most famous artists of the Hudson River School. A more modern view can be found at SUNY Purchase College where the Neuberger Museum of Art houses an exciting collection of 20th century modern and contemporary art.

Next stop is Philipsburg Manor where tours depart for Kykuit, home to four generations of Rockefellers. The magnificent home has an impressive collection of 20th century sculpture along with terraced gardens and views of the Hudson River.

Day Two

West Point Museum maintains a large collection of works by Robert Walter Weir, a Hudson River School artist who was the Academy's drawing instructor for 42 years. Other artists of the Hudson River School are also in the collection.

Next door, at the United States Military Academy's Visitor Center, take the tour bus through the academy. Stops along the way include Trophy Point, a popular vantage point for Hudson River School artists.

Washington's Headquarters gave Hudson River School artists a sweeping view of the Newburgh Bay, Bannerman Island and Storm King Mountain, a common site for them to paint. Raphael Hoyle's "Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh" is displayed in nearby Crawford House, an 1830's English country-style house museum.

Day Three

Across the river at Vassar College, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center includes both Hudson River School and New York School artists in their collection.

Olana, the Moorish-style villa of Frederic Edwin Church, provided inspiration for this Hudson River School painter with its sweeping views from its mountaintop setting.

Day Four

Cedar Grove was the home of Thomas Cole, the father of the Hudson River School of Art. The house contains galleries of oil paintings and prints as well as rooms with Cole artifacts and period furnishings.

Kaaterskill Falls is a much celebrated scenic site. Thomas Cole painted it several times, and most of the Hudson River School artists found there way here to include it in their works. Nearby, the Catskill Mountain House stood for many years.

Perched on the edge of a Catskill escarpment, the site provides a spectacular view of the Hudson Valley, an inspiration to the Hudson River School painters many years ago.

The Empire State Plaza Art Collection houses paintings of the New York School, while the Albany Institute of History and Art, one of the oldest museums in the United States, contains paintings from the Hudson River School. The latter has a dramatic installation of these paintings in two striking galleries.

Contact Information

Ever Rest, Hastings-on-Hudson • 914-478-7990
Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase • 914-251-6100 • website
Kykuit, Sleepy Hollow • 914-631-9491 • website
West Point Museum • 845-938-3590 • website
U.S. Military Academy, West Point • 845-446-4724 • website
Storm King Art Center, Mountainville • 845-534-3115 • website
Washington's Headquarters, Newburgh • 845-562-1195 • website
Crawford House, Newburgh • 845-561-2585
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie • 845-561-2585 • website
Olana, Greenport • 518-828-0135 • website
Cedar Grove, Catskill • 518-943-7465 • website
Kaaterskill Falls, Catskill • 518-589-5058 (May-Oct) • 800-355-2287 (Oct-May)