[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 111 (Friday, July 22, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL OF PAINTERS

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                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 22, 2011

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I wish to call my colleagues' attention to 
the Hudson River School of Painters, the first American school of 
painters that contributed to an appreciation of the American landscape 
and conservation of this country's natural beauty. At the time of its 
operation in the 19th Century, it was a significant achievement in 
American art and culture that commemorated American landscapes in a 
manner unseen before by American citizens and others around the world.
  Recently, I had the distinct honor to unveil the first of a series of 
historic bronze markers along the Hudson River. These bronze markers 
are designed to indicate where painters put their easels in order to 
create a panorama and vista of the river itself. The historic bronze 
marker, created by Greg Wyatt, Director of the Academy of Art at the 
Newington-Cropsey Foundation in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, honor the 
sites where painters such as Jasper F. Cropsey, Thomas Cole, Frederic 
Edwin Church, and Asher Durand stood to create paintings reflecting 
their unique perspectives on nature. Additional sites are planned this 
coming year at Hook Mountain State Park and Newburgh, New York.
  In light of this occasion, I would like to commend my colleague 
Representative Maurice Hinchey in his long record of support for both 
the rebirth of study of this first American school of painting, and for 
his determination to present to Congress and the American people the 
importance of the Hudson Valley to our cultural heritage.
  I also would like to commend the Architect of the Capitol for 
displaying two paintings purchased by Congress after the Civil War from 
the famous 19th century Hudson River School painter Albert Bierstadt. 
They are entitled ``Discovery on the Hudson'' and ``Entrance into 
Monterey,'' and are available for viewing in the Capitol Visitors 
Center. I urge all of my colleagues and their constituents to 
appreciate these wonderful pieces of art.

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