Watch a video that reveals the findings of a technical examination conducted by The Met's conservation team on Thomas Cole's The Oxbow (1836) and The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire (1835–36). This study uncovered that the two works, although quite different in appearance, are connected in surprising ways.
Featured objects:
Thomas Cole (American, 1801–1848). View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, 1836. Oil on canvas, 51 1/2 x 76 in. (130.8 x 193 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1908 (08.228)
Thomas Cole (American, 1801–1848). The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire, 1835–36. Oil on canvas, 51 1/4 x 76 in. (130.2 x 193 cm). New-York Historical Society, Gift of The New-York Gallery of the Fine Arts
Produced in association with Thomas Cole's Journey: Atlantic Crossings, on view at The Met Fifth Avenue January 30 through May 13, 2018.
