[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 278 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 278

 Honoring the Hudson River School painters for their contributions to 
                           the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2009

 Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself and Mr. Schumer) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring the Hudson River School painters for their contributions to 
                           the United States.

Whereas the Hudson River School was a mid-19\th\ century American art movement 
        led by a group of landscape painters, whose aesthetic vision was 
        influenced by the romanticism movement;
Whereas the Hudson River School is considered the first school of American art;
Whereas the major Hudson River School painters included Thomas Cole, Frederic 
        Edwin Church, Asher Brown Durand, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Sanford 
        Robinson Gifford, Albert Bierstadt, John Frederick Kensett, George 
        Inness, Worthington Whittredge, and Thomas Moran;
Whereas the Hudson River School paintings captured the striking landscape and 
        sweeping natural beauty of the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding 
        New York areas, including the Catskill, the Adirondack, and the White 
        Mountains;
Whereas Hudson River School paintings served a vital role in cultivating 
        American identity in the mid-19\th\ century and creating a sense of awe 
        of the American landscape that endures to this day;
Whereas the Hudson River School painters influenced the environmental 
        conservation movement and the establishment of the National Park System 
        under President Theodore Roosevelt;
Whereas the Hudson River School's portrayal of the Hudson River Valley is a 
        major source of tourism in the region;
Whereas 2009 marks the 400\th\ anniversary of the voyages of discovery made by 
        Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain, recognizing the important role 
        that the Hudson River and the Hudson Valley played in the development 
        and growth of the United States;
Whereas the Hudson River School painters depicted the Hudson River Valley during 
        the opening of the Erie Canal, which linked the Hudson River with the 
        Great Lakes and created a main trade route from New York that fostered 
        the city's central place in the American economy;
Whereas the Hudson River School painters celebrated the ideals of American 
        democracy, individuality, and progress;
Whereas the Hudson River School painters illustrated themes such as nature, 
        conservation, civility, unity, education, family, chivalry, and 
        development;
Whereas the Hudson River School painters expressed the sense that every 
        generation of Americans should seek to preserve the naturalness of the 
        continent; and
Whereas the Hudson River School painters accentuated the cardinal values of the 
        19\th\ century, which can assist contemporary Americans in the rebirth 
        of American culture: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate recognizes and honors the Hudson River 
School painters for their contributions to the United States.
                                 <all>