The Artist Sketching at Mount Desert, Maine

Let's move to the mid-19th century in the United States. Artists of the Hudson River School, including Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin Church, traveled to Mount Desert Island in Maine in the 1840s and 1850s, moved by its dramatic coastline, rugged mountains, and atmospheric sunsets. Their paintings introduced audiences to the wild beauty of Maine and inspired a younger generation of artists, among them Sanford Robinson Gifford, to visit and paint the region themselves. By the late 19th century, Mount Desert Island had also become a fashionable destination for wealthy tourists from cities such as New York and Boston. New steamship and railway connections, together with popular travel guides, made the region increasingly accessible. Visitors, known as rusticators, were drawn to the island’s combination of rugged wilderness and picturesque charm.

Gifford’s work captures an artist (likely the painter himself) working en plein air, directly in nature. Seated on a rocky mountain ledge with his easel, stool, umbrella, and painting equipment nearby, he becomes part of the landscape he observes. The scene reflects the growing 19th-century belief that nature was both a source of artistic inspiration and a place of spiritual reflection.

P.S. Here are the key facts you need to know about the Hudson River School—one of the most important American art movements. 

P.P.S. Like Gifford, many artists found inspiration in nature. Explore their most memorable views in our Landscapes 50 Postcards Set!