He enjoyed a deep well of commanding views from his windows that he captured in thousands of paintings and sketches. Once ensconced at Olana, the former world traveler did not have to leave home to find subject matter. Church took the concept of viewsheds even further by strategically positioning Olana’s numerous large windows and balconies to frame and highlight the best views, curating the sights for visitors. It’s difficult to tell where the property ends and the rest of the world begins, but it doesn’t really matter. The beauty of Olana’s hilltop site is that the viewshed encompasses a much broader area than Frederic Edwin Church actually owned. The vistas include the Catskill and Berkshire Mountains, the Hudson River, trees, fields, and even weather and cloud formations in the broad stretch of the sky above the lower-lying areas. From the house on high, there are 360-degree views that reach into Massachusetts and Connecticut. He certainly picked the perfect site on which to do this. As a landscape painter, there’s no question that Church designed his own property with a view toward cultivating painting possibilities. That honor would go to the grounds and viewshed (views beyond the property), which have been seen as Frederic Edwin Church’s most masterful artwork of all. The Viewshed A framed Olana viewshed, via Daily Art MagazineĪlthough the home and studio at Olana are elaborate and artful, they’re not really the main event. Church painted it for his wife, who had not accompanied him to this dangerous area, and the work still hangs above the family fireplace. The most famous is El Kahsné, a striking composition depicting the famous archaeological site in Petra, Jordan. That’s why Olana contains so many significant Frederic Edwin Church paintings and sketches. Because Olana remained unchanged for so long all of the Churches’ furnishings, books, collections, and personal possessions still inhabit the house. The home also contains Church’s art collection, comprised of minor old masters and works by his fellow American landscape painters. The collections of South American and Persian art are particularly vibrant, although objects from Europe and Asia also appear. Olana is filled to the brim with the art and antiquities that the Churches acquired on their travels. Inside Olana Persian-inspired décor including genuine and imitation pieces, inside Olana, via Pinterest These patterns appear in the floor and wall tiles, on the wallpaper, carved and painted into the woodwork, and more. Colorful flowers, geometric patterns, pointed and ogee arches and Arabic script fill nearly every available surface. Some of it was inspired by what the Churches had seen on their travels, while others relate to popular pattern books. Both the interior and exterior are covered in exuberant decoration designed by Frederic Edwin Church himself and approved by his wife. Picturesquely sited on the summit of a hill, Olana is an asymmetrical building with a central courtyard (enclosed in deference to New York climate), lots of balconies and porches, and a tall bell tower – all characteristic Middle Eastern attributes. The home and studio at Olana represent an eclectic Victorian take on Islamic or Persian art and architecture. Olana’s front door with Islamic-inspired decoration by Church, via Flickr Although the Churches were devout Christians, they felt no hesitation to base their house on Islamic precedents. Both deeply religious people, Frederic and Isabel Church have been seeking to bring a little bit of Jerusalem home with them. They had visited Jerusalem, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. This elaborate home, whose name refers to an ancient Persian castle, was inspired by their recent trip to the Holy Land. It wasn’t until the late 1860s, after the Churches had weathered the Civil War, traveled Europe and the Middle East, and lost two young children, that they created Olana. The Churches initially inhabited a modest cottage on the property, designed by Beaux-Arts architect Richard Morris Hunt. The property would later amount to 250 acres, including the steep hill on which the home was eventually sited. It’s likely that he chose it for its grand views from the very beginning. Frederic Edwin Church Creates Olana Olana’s rear exterior façade, via New York Best Experience websiteįrederic Edwin Church bought 125 acres in Hudson, New York, not far from the former home of his mentor, Thomas Cole, shortly before his marriage to his wife, Isabel.
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