A Painter’s Hudson Retreat - Alana

House Museum

Feb 11

Olana was the eclectic Hudson home of Frederic Edwin Church and his wife Isabel. Frederic was one of the major figures in the Hudson River School of landscape painting. The mansion was designed by Mr. Church in conjunction with architect Calvert Vaux and built between 1870 and 1872. A studio wing was added in 1889. The eclectic home is intricately stenciled inside and out, with stencils designed by Mr. Church. Over forty years of his life, Mr. Church designed and created a 250-acre picturesque landscape by continuously planting gardens, and orchards and adding scenic carriage roads.

Mrs. Church died in 1899, followed by Mr. Church the following year. The estate was left to their son, Louis, who maintained the estate with his wife Sarah, adding some more farming acreage. The home, with exotic interiors, passed hands to Sarah’s nephew, who intended to sell the property to developers. This plan failed, and after a two-year campaign against the development, New York State purchased the property in 1966. It was opened to the public and former upstairs bedrooms were converted into galleries.

If you love art, architecture, history, walking trails, scenic mountain and river views, Olana will check off all the boxes.

Here is what caught my eye. I hope you enjoy!

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Olana, with towers, porches and balconies, sits atop a hill, overlooking the Hudson Valley and the Catskill Mountains.

The architecture is a colorful mix of Moorish and Victorian, combined with Middle Eastern elements.

South-facing facade

West facing facade with half-round terrace

Colorful brick highlights outline the window arches.

Striped awnings

The main tower with arched windows

The front entrance on the east facade

The Arabic word for “Welcome” over the front entrance

The East Parlor contains some of Church’s works.

The East Parlor contains another group of items brought back from extensive travels.

Church utilized windows to frame the spectacular views evident here in The Sitting Room.

Mrs. Church had her Lockwood de Forest custom carved teak desk in the Sitting Room. de Forest went on to create other designs for Olana.

The Sitting Room fireplace with teak wood design by decorator/artist Lockwood de Forest for his mentor, Frederic Church.

Arches on the stairway landing

Central Court Hall, with arches and a stair landing set as a stage, once used for performances

Displayed in Court Hall is an eclectic mix of items brought back from global travels.

Beautifully stenciled door

Bathroom

The dining room, or sometimes referred to as the Picture Gallery

The brass and teak fireplace in the dining room was designed by Lockwood de Forest.

The dining room with Church’s collection of Old Master paintings

Even before Olana was opened as a museum, Church was displaying his collection of paintings, preparing his home to be a future museum.

The room was designed without eye-level windows so that visitors could take in the outside tree tops.

Mr. Church’s Studio

Corner fireplace with Persian tile and teak wood accents in the Studio

Some of Church’s original painting supplies and easel

He did a bulk of the work in this Studio, and typically finished the paintings at his Manhattan 10th Street Studio.

Another artist’s exhibition in the Studio

Double copper sink in the kitchen

Just like a still-life painting, fruit and watering cans sit on the table in the kitchen.

The view of the Piazza from the Sitting Room

View from Piazza from the Studio

View of the columned Piazza that runs alongside the corridor

The main staircase shows off the grand golden window that was created with paper placed between two pieces of glass.

Guest bedroom on the second floor with beautiful mountain views

Mrs. Church’s bedroom

A quiet little corner

The Persian ceramic tile on this upstairs gallery space fireplace contains teak designs by Lockwood de Forest.

These row boats pulled up on the shore of the manmade lake that Church created

The red barn doors

The red barn

Outhouse

Outbuilding

This cottage is believed to be designed by Richard Morris Hunt.

The cottage’s blooming window box

Olana State Historic Park is run by the New York State Parks Department in conjunction with the non-profit Olana Partnership, an education corporation advocating preservation, interpretation and improvment of Olana. The Welcome Center is in the former Carriage House.

In 2019, a partnership with the New York State Bridge Authority and the Olana State Historic Site, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site opened the Hudson River Skywalk, a pedestrian walkway across the Rip Van Winkle Bridge to connect the two artists’ homes.

What you should know: