Thomas Cole was a very skilled American artist. He possessed the ability to visualize a landscape and represent how he saw it by painting and drawing in breathtaking, realistic detail. Some of his most popular works include The Garden of Eden (1828), Distant View of Niagara Falls (1830), The Chalice of the Titans (1833), and The Oxbow (1836). Most of Cole's life experiences and his interest in various visions of wild American landscapes contributed to his inspiration and great success in creating many of his paintings. On February 1, 1801, the talented landscape painter Thomas Cole was born to James and Mary Cole in Bolton-le-Moor Lancashire, England. He was the youngest of seven children. According to some sources Cole had a difficult childhood, at the age of 9 he was sent to a school in Chester where he allegedly suffered from malnutrition, cruel punishments and frequent illnesses. During his adolescence Cole was trained as a textile designer. In 1818 at the age of 17 his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. James Cole was unable to find suitable work to support his family in Pennsylvania, so he eventually packed his bags and moved to Steubenville, Ohio, leaving Thomas behind. Thomas Cole spent much of his first year in the United States alone in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, working as a textile print designer and wood engraver before joining his family in Ohio. James Cole opened a wallpaper manufacturing business in Ohio, where Thomas eventually began working for him as a designer and also engraved woodblocks. Cole's interest and curiosity in art began around 1820. While traveling in the surrounding towns he met an artist named Stein, who taught him the basics of using oil...... medium paper. .....he played it, paving the way for the evolution of the American landscape artist. To honor Thomas Cole and his accomplishments, the farmhouse he used as a studio in Cedar Grove is now known as the Thomas Cole House, and one of the highest peaks located in the Catskill Mountains has been named Thomas Cole Mountain.Works CitedDecode-Explore Thomas Cole" ( 2010) - www.explorethomascole.org/tour/items/49/decode"Thomas Cole's The Oxbow" by Dr. Bryan Zygmont - smarthistory.khanacademy.org/romanticism-us-cole.html‎"Thomas Cole/ View from Mount Holyoke” (2006) - hrs-art.com/.../thomas-cole-view-from-mount-holyoke-northampton -mas“Thomas Cole bio- Cedar Grove” (2005) - www.thomascole.org/biography-of-thomas-cole/“Thomas Cole (1801-1848) – Metropolitan Museum of Art (2014)-www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd_colePrebles' Art Forms an introduction to the visual arts (2011) - Patrick Frank-