Gardens of the Van Rensselaer Manor House

Thomas Cole did two oils of the manor house and gardens owned by the Van Rensselaer family based on highly detailed pencil drawings of the sites. The Van Rensselaer gardens were celebrated as among the most beautiful and extensive in all of America, with elegant lawns, flower beds, ponds, and majestic trees. Cole's painting, showing the gardens in the light of a late afternoon, is dominated by summer greens.