Central Park: A Gallery of Images
Olmsted and Vaux tried to capture the beauty of nature, so evident in the unique glory of our country…
In the original plan for Central Park (called ‘the Greensward Plan’) Olmsted and Vaux’s desire was that visitors would feel as though they were walking through a gallery of images, not unlike a series of paintings.
This was no accident. It ran in tandem to what was already going on in the art world since the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Early nineteenth century America was in desperate need of an artistic expression that was unique unto itself. This was not only due to the newness of the country but to the brewing conflict between the industrial north and the slave-based south. If such a unifying expression could be found, it was hoped that it might help assuage the ever-increasing tension between the two.
…and bring it into an urban setting in a series of images akin to viewing a gallery of inspiring paintings…
The Hudson River School with its many talented artists, from Frederick Church to Thomas Cole, helped to fill this growing need.
They chose the natural beauty of the country as their focal point and elevated their romanticized images to realm of the Divine.
In their own landscape designs, Olmsted and Vaux picked up on this theme of Nature as our savior, and created a park to be viewed as a series of inspiring scenes or vistas.
Although the park has devoted more and still more space for recreational uses over the ensuing years, I try to underline this original intent throughout my young adult adventure series, Central Park Story.
…like this one, by Thomas Cole, painted in 1836
