The Van Rensselaer Manor House

The companion to Gardens of the Van Rensselaer Manor House, Thomas Cole's The Van Rensselaer Manor House, shows the house in autumn, nestling among trees that have begun to show the golden yellows and browns of the season. Although the painting shows a realistic likeness of the property, Cole transcends the limits of pure realism by evoking a palpable mood of loneliness and nostalgia. This is part of the Albany Institute's premier collection of more than 500 works by Cole, founder of the Hudson River school of painting.