Learn about the Hudson: Navigate Your Way to the Hudson River Panorama
On the second floor of the Albany Institute of History and Art stands a copper and brass statue (circa 1927) of Henry Hudson’s ship, the Half Moon, along with artwork from the Hudson River School artists, artifacts, and rare documents about the people, events, and ideas that shaped the Hudson River region. Last year marked the 400th anniversary of Hudson’s voyage up the river, and in commemoration of this event, the institute unveiled the Hudson River Panorama: 400 Years of History, Art, and Culture. Hudson was hired by the Dutch East India Company to find a northern outlet to Asia, and he explored the river that runs vertically throughout New York state. Only two years after the founding of the Jamestown settlement, Hudson discovered Mohicans and a thriving fur trade (instead of any outlet) and as a result the area began to thrive.
The exhibit is divided into five sections, reflecting how the Hudson has influenced the development of its surrounding lands.
The first of these, Community and Settlement, showcases a timeline that chronicles major national and international events relating to the Hudson River and Albany. There’s also a slide show set to music, interactive screens, and a Panorama that was created in 1845 by William Wade and William Croome. The Panorama is actually a pocket-sized guidebook that was used as a map to show the shorelines from New York City to Albany; for this exhibit, it was enlarged to make its 19th century details more visible. The map was created with East and West dimensions so that no matter how it’s turned, the top etchings are facing up and the bottom designs are down. Modern day pictures of recognizable spots along the journey also hang on the walls, including a view from the Olana house (which is the famous former dwelling of artist Frederic Edwin Church) and an image of last year’s Half Moon replica sailing down the river.
The second part of the exhibit, Natural History and Environment, provides information about the wildlife and current status of the river and its nearby areas. You’ll learn about the islands that have disappeared, the Adirondack Forest Preserve, which was set up due to erosion and deforestation, and the recent proposal of the St. Lawrence Cement Company for a new factory in Greenport.
The third part, Culture and Symbol, features a room full of paintings from the Hudson River School, sketches from Andrew Jackson Downing, and hundreds of other works of art. The Hudson River School is considered the first American school of painting and was founded in 1825 by Thomas Cole. Artists who attended the school painted pastoral landscapes of the mountains and countryside near the Hudson. One of Cole’s paintings hangs in the room, along with a student painting of Church’s. Artifacts from the 1909 Hudson Fulton Celebration also don the floor, including an antique camera and photo album.
Transportation and Trade, Commerce, and Industry (the fourth and fifth parts of the exhibit) converge into one room. The transportation side includes an artifact canoe and information about the once-booming businesses of canals and railways. There’s also history available about the Underground Railroad in the Adirondacks.
The trade and commerce section provides in-depth information about the industries that were popular in times past, including ice, textiles, iron, bricks, and fishing, and most recently, nanotechnology. An antique icebox, an umbrella made with whale baleen, and old-fashioned ice skates adorn this section, making it seem like you’ve stepped back in time.
The most intriguing thing in this room is the iron link, which was once part of a chain of 1,200 links used during the Revolutionary War. Thaddeus Kosciusko was asked by George Washington to build a chain to lie across the Hudson that would stop British warships from passing north. It took forty men four days to install and weighed 65 tons.
The exhibit was originally supposed to end last year, but due to its popularity, it’s been extended until December.
–Sarah Evans is an Assistant Editor of The Free George.
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