Olana

Today we visited another historic mansion in the area - Olana.  Olana was the home of Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), his wife, Isabel, and their four children.  Frederick Church is one of the major figures in the Hudson River School of landscape painting.  

rederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), his wife Isabel and their four children. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

rederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), his wife Isabel and their four children. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

rederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), his wife Isabel and their four children. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

rederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), his wife Isabel and their four children. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

rederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), his wife Isabel and their four children. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

rederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), his wife Isabel and their four children. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

rederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), his wife Isabel and their four children. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

rederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), his wife Isabel and their four children. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

rederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), his wife Isabel and their four children. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx

The house, the landscape, and the views that comprise Olana were developed by Church as a three-dimensional work of art, a total environment intended to be both a major aesthetic statement and a home for his family.  We decided to visit this home because it is primarily Persian in design and we haven't seen the Persian influence in any mansion that we've visited.

Olana

The view of Olana from the Stables - now the Gift Shop

The Stables - Gift Shop and Visitor Center

The Church Family

Frederic Church

A closer look at the design of the home

The view from the entry to the home

Our guide told us that the view was really better when the Churches lived in the home because he did not let all the trees and brush inhibit the views.  They are in the process of remedying the situation.

View of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge over the Hudson River connecting Hudson to Catskill

This fence was unique

A closer look at the windows and the design

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the mansion but I managed to take pictures of some of the pictures available in the Visitor Center and they turned out pretty well.  We didn't see any signs that said we couldn't take pictures of them!  

We loved the placement of all the large windows in the mansion because almost in every direction you looked, you could see outside and each window had another glorious view of the Hudson Valley.  However, all the windows now have a sun screen on them and that combined with the dark colors in the rooms, make it pretty dismal inside.  The pictures from the Visitor Center had to have a lot of extra lighting to get them to look as light as they do!

The Main Gathering Room

The Window Above the Main Gathering Room

Frederic Church's Studio

The entire home is filled with original sketches and paintings from Frederic Church who was one of the mid 19th Centuries most famous artists. Church was a second generation student of the Hudson River School and the only pupil of Thomas Cole. Cole and his friend Asher Durand started the Hudson River School in New York and started the first American artistic movement.  The paintings of the school focused on traditional American pastoral settings especially in the Catskill Mountains. 

filled with original sketches, studies and paintings by one of the mid-19th century's most famous artists. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

filled with original sketches, studies and paintings by one of the mid-19th century's most famous artists. - See more at: http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/23/details.aspx#sthash.TCqRzny4.dpuf

The Dining Room

Table as Isabel Church might have set it

The Grand Porch overlooking the Hudson River Valley

The Grand Porch as our group toured the home

Looking down at a small garage and the Visitor Center/Gift Shop

Persian items are the main kind of gifts available in the Gift Shop

After visiting Olana, we ate a really late lunch at Le Perche, a French Restaurant in Hudson, New York.  We both had chicken salad sandwiches on a baguette. It wasn't the most impressive thing on the menu but it was certainly filling.  The baguette was so large I couldn't get it in my mouth so I tore it up and ate it separately!

Then we headed back home by way of Ghent where we stopped at a Dairy Queen for dessert which was also dinner!  On the way home the sky kept changing colors as the sun set and I grabbed a few pictures from the truck.  Beautiful evening!