Explore the Influence of this artwork.
The introduction of Thomas Cole’s works at the emergence of the Hudson River School style gave voice to conservation, an idea that was just beginning to develop. It was at nearly the same time that Lake with Dead Trees was sold, as were the other four paintings, and Thomas Cole’s name was starting to become familiar as a noteworthy artist, that the Erie Canal officially opened across upstate New York. The opening of this major transportation system, second worldwide only to the Grand Canal in China, swept the nation up in a surge of patriotism and celebration of the innovations of this great country. In this outpouring of nationalism, Thomas Cole was wholeheartedly embraced and became championed as the "American Adam of landscape painting.”Cole is considered to be one of the pioneers of American environmentalism, for his concern for the impending destruction by “Copper-hearted barbarians … pushing a railroad up through his valley to exploit its natural resources – through mining, quarrying, and logging” and in his effort to inform the public, Thomas Cole’s labors are among those that motivated the creation of the National Park Service.  Catskill Park was established in 1904 to protect thousands of acres, incredible vistas, and mountain ranges including thirty-three Catskill’s high peaks, a natural inheritance that will remain forever wild, an event that without Thomas Cole, and Lake with Dead Trees, likely would not have transpired.
National Park Service Grand Canal Thomas Cole Catskill’s high peaks Erie Canal America Hudson River School Catskill Park China