Frederic Edwin Church
Twilight in the Wilderness
1860
Frederic Edwin Church's 'Twilight in the Wilderness' (1860), painted on the eve of the American Civil War, covers two-thirds of its canvas with a sky of burning red and gold while the darkened lake and forest below settle into still anticipation. The heir to Thomas Cole's Hudson River School transformed a landscape into a patriotic parable of American destiny at a moment of national dread. It is a cornerstone of the Cleveland Museum of Art's American galleries.
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Image source: Wikimedia Commons