A scene of New Hampshire by the Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole has set a new auction record, selling for over $1.6 million at Christie's on January 23. The painting, titled "Mount Chocorua, New Hampshire (1827)", depicts a radiant mountainscape with a lake and a fisherman in a bright red sweater. It was part of a single-owner auction, "American Sublime: Property From an Important Private Collection."
The sale price marks the first new auction record for Cole in over two decades. His previous high was set in 2003 for "Catskill Mountain House", which sold for just under $1.5 million. The record-breaking price is attributed to the painting's early date, its subject matter, and its illustrious provenance. It was originally sold directly to James Abraham Hillhouse and later held in IBM's collection before being sold at Sotheby's in 1995.
"The Hudson River School painters have emerged as icons of American art and we are seeing new and younger collectors getting interested in them, which is exciting," said Paige Kestenman, vice president and senior specialist of American art at Christie's. "This painting epitomizes why Thomas Cole's work inspired the Hudson River School."