Thomas Cole National Historic Site | Historic Site | Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area

Please call the individual sites directly to inquire about the events listed on our event calendars and to inquire about hours.

The Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area does not own or operate any of the sites listed below. They are owned and managed by the organizations listed in the site descriptions. Please call ahead for special accommodation needs or with any questions about their sites.

Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Arts, Artists, & the Hudson River School

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  • 218 Spring Street
    Catskill, NY
  • (518) 943-7465
  • Greene County
  • Greene County Tourism Website
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  • Grounds open for free every day, dawn to dusk. Main House Tours: Wed-Sun, 11am, 1pm, 3pm 1846 New Studio: Wed-Sun, 11am-4pm Cole Center: Wed-Sun, 10:45am-4:30pm Storehouse: Wed-Sun, 11am-4:30pm Check website for seasonal hours.
  • Grounds free. $20 Adults 18+; $18 Seniors 62+ and Military/Veterans with ID; $5 Youth (13-17), Students/educators with ID; Free for Thomas Cole Site Members, Children 12 & under, Food Stamp (SNAP/EBT) cardholders, and Museum Employees with museum ID

Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School of landscape painting, first visited this handsome Federal-style dwelling in the late 1820s when he rented a room during his sketching trips to the Catskills. In 1836, he married Maria Bartow, who occupied the house with her uncle, and moved in permanently. In the newly restored and furnished studio on the property, he painted some of his best-known works. Frederic Edwin Church (who later built his home, Olana, just across the Hudson River) spent two years here as Cole’s pupil. Today, the site is home to a great variety of educational programs about the Hudson River School. Several rooms feature a museum-style display on Cole’s creative process, exhibiting unique objects such as his portable paint box and easels. The porch offers a spectacular panoramic view of the Catskills while the visitor center provides a map to the nearby places where Cole and others sketched dramatic views of mountains and waterfalls.

Amenities: Passport Stamp

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Upcoming Events

Second Saturday Workshop: Historic Patterns & Printmaking with Museum Educators
Mar 14, 2026 , 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Sunday Salon Lecture: "Thomas Cole and Frederic Church: Mastering the Landscape Oil Sketch" with Elizabeth Kornhauser, Ph.D.
Mar 29, 2026 , 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Curator’s Tour: Spotlight on Artists Emily Cole and Valerie Hegarty
Apr 3, 2026 , 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Second Saturday Activity: Spring Cleanup & Volunteer Day
Apr 11, 2026 , 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Sunday Salon Lecture: "Thomas Doughty’s 'Approaching Storm': A Gift to the Cole House; a Goad to Thomas Cole" with Kevin Avery, Ph.D.
Apr 19, 2026 , 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Exhibition Opening Conversation: "Thomas Cole: An American Visionary" with Alan Wallach, Ph.D., and Nancy Siegel, Ph.D.
Apr 25, 2026 , 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Exhibition Opening: 'Thomas Cole: An American Visionary'
Apr 25, 2026 , 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Curator’s Tour: Exhibition Tour of 'Thomas Cole: An American Visionary'
May 1, 2026 , 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM

2026 Cole Fellows’ Presentations
May 1, 2026 , 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Second Saturday Workshop: Create Your Own Color Wheel
May 9, 2026 , 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

All-Inclusive Museum Day Trip: Hill-Stead Museum & Wadsworth Atheneum
May 9, 2026 , 7:45 AM to 7:00 PM

Sunday Salon Lecture: Thomas Cole and American Wilderness with William L. Coleman, Ph.D.
May 31, 2026 , 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Curator’s Tour: Collection Highlights
Jun 5, 2026 , 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Second Saturday Workshop: Create Your Own Mineral Box
Jun 13, 2026 , 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Sunday Salon Tour: Black Labor & Legacy at the Historic Property
Jun 14, 2026 , 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Exhibition Opening: "Circles of Influence: Thomas Cole and the American Landscape Movement"
Jun 20, 2026 , 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Exhibition Opening: "Cynthia Daignault: Light Atlas"
Jun 20, 2026 , 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Curator’s Tour Exhibition Tour of Cynthia Daignault’s "Light Atlas"
Jul 3, 2026 , 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Cole’s Art Camp: Trees
Jul 6 to Jul 10, 2026 , 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Cole’s Art Camp: Clouds
Jul 20 to Jul 24, 2026 , 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Sunday Salon: Catwalk Artists-in-Residence
Jul 26, 2026 , 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Curator’s Tour: Exhibition Tour of "Circles of Influence: Thomas Cole and the American Landscape Movement"
Aug 7, 2026 , 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Cole's Art Camp: Pollinators
Aug 10 to Aug 14, 2026 , 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Cole's Art Camp: Mountains
Aug 17 to Aug 21, 2026 , 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Summer Festival
Aug 23, 2026 , 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Curator’s Tour: Collection Highlights
Sep 4, 2026 , 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Sunday Salon Lecture: Artist Lecture with Cynthia Daignault
Sep 13, 2026 , 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Curator’s Tour: Exhibition Tour of Cynthia Daignault’s "Light Atlas"
Oct 2, 2026 , 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Sunday Salon Lecture: "Nature, Music, Joy, and Loss: Thomas Cole’s 'The Pic-Nic Party' as Elegy" with Terry Carbone, Ph.D.
Oct 4, 2026 , 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Curator’s Tour: Exhibition Tour of "Thomas Cole: An American Visionary"
Nov 6, 2026 12:30 PM

Sunday Salon Lecture: Graham C. Boettcher, Ph.D.
Nov 22, 2026 , 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Sunday Salon Lecture: "Thomas Cole and Connecticut: A Closer Look" with Erin Monroe, Curator
Dec 13, 2026 , 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

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