The Hudson River School was an American art movement during the mid-19th century. The school's members were mostly landscape painters, and their paintings usually depict the Hudson Valley and the surrounding area. Many of these works are representative of the White Mountains, Adirondack Mountains, and Catskill Mountains. In addition, they feature a variety of other landscapes and other landscape subjects. To better understand the movement's work, here are some facts.

The Hudson River School was influenced by the work of American writers and artists. In Asher Durand's Kindred Spirits, for instance, two of the group's painters, William Cullen Bryant and Thomas Cole, discuss the nature in the painting. The artists also drew inspiration from American landscape and wildlife, such as the New York landscape. This type of painting and photography became popular in America, and the Hudson Valley is now home to some of its finest works.

The paintings of the Hudson River School are widely collected today. The Wadsworth Atheneum, for example, houses one of the largest collections of Hudson's works, with over 65 pieces by Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole, and Frederic Edwin Church. The museum's founder, Daniel Wadsworth, and other 19th century art collectors formed the collection. These artists shaped the history of American art, and the school's name has stayed with them even as their influence grows.