Thomas Cole (1801-1848) was named by the artistic critic founder of the Hudson River School, a group of American artists who painted landscapes in the mid-19th century. The painters of this artistic movement became famous for their realistic, yet monumental and romantic way of presenting in their paintings the American nature, both naturalistic and idealized.
Thomas Cole as one of that artistic circle, most of all a landscape artist, but for him is characteristic allegorical way of imagination in lot of his paintings. The artist was best known for his five-part series, which he himself titled The Course of Empire. Another very popular series of four paintings was titled The Voyage of Life, of which two versions have been preserved today.