View on the Hudson River by Jasper Francis Cropsey, 1890 (Museum of the Shenandoah Valley)
Please Note: The June 4 return time has been updated (originally publicized as 9 p.m.).
New York’s Hudson River Valley has long been a center for art and culture, attracting artists north from the cities to explore and visually capture the pristine riverbanks and mountainsides that stand in contrast to centers of industry and urban development.
Beginning in the early 19th century, the artists who came to be known as of the Hudson River School of painting visited and lived in the Catskill Mountains, drawn to the region’s sublime vistas. Their paintings depicted the sylvan landscape and documented how new feats of engineering such as railroads and canals were impacting their beloved Hudson Valley.
Over the course of this three-day tour, share the perspectives of these artists as historian Paul Glenshaw explores the homes and studios of Hudson River School founder Thomas Cole and his fellow painters Jasper Cropsey and Frederic Church, whose stunning mansion Olana, set on banks of the Hudson, blends Victorian and Middle Eastern influences.
Enjoy a private guided tour of the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation collection in Mount Kisco and explore more unique aspects of the area with a visit to the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome and a tour and lunch at an innovative local farm.
World Art History Certificate elective: Earn 1 credit*
Know Before You Go
- Cost includes 2 nights of accommodations, bus transportation, services of a study leader and Smithsonian representative, 7 meals (2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners), gratuities, taxes, and entrance fees.
- Tour departs by bus from the Mayflower Hotel, Connecticut Ave. & DeSales St. (DeSales Street side), with a pick-up stop at the Exit 27 I-95 carpool lot at about 7:25 a.m.
- Single-room supplement $180 (factored into the Single Room Member and Single Room Non-Member pricing).
- Singles registering at the double-room rate are paired (on a nonsmoking basis) if possible, but must pay the single-room supplement otherwise.
- Detailed information is emailed to registrants about four weeks prior to departure.
- Participants are advised to purchase travel insurance for overnight and multi-day tours from a provider of your choice. Travel insurance provides additional coverage against unforeseen incidents that require last-minute cancellations.
General Information
- Registration for this tour will end by 2 p.m. ET on Friday, May 31, 2024.
- The tour departs by motorcoach from downtown Washington, DC with a designated secondary pick-up outside the city. Content delivered by the study leader on the way to the destination, after the secondary pick-up, is an integral part of the study tour experience. Meeting the group once the tour is en route is discouraged.
- Smithsonian Associates is a mask-friendly environment. Please feel free to bring and wear a mask at any time during a tour, both for your safety or the safety of others.
- For additional tour information:
*Enrolled participants in the World Art History Certificate Program receive 1 elective credit. Not yet enrolled? Learn about the program, its benefits, and how to register here.
