S
otheby’s is proud to present Illuminating Nature: Women of the Hudson River School, a private selling exhibition celebrating a generation of pioneering 19th-century women artists whose work engages directly with the natural grandeur and spiritual resonance of the American landscape. As important contributors to the Hudson River School—America’s first major art movement—these female painters were inspired by the dramatic vistas of the Hudson Valley and its surrounding wilderness: mist-laden riverbanks, sunlit forests, rugged mountains, and the ever-changing atmospheric effects that came to define the region’s visual identity.
The exhibition is anchored by five works from the descendants of Julie Hart Beers, one of the few commercially successful women painters of her era, whose intimate yet powerful views of nature reflect the Hudson River School’s reverence for light, scale, and the sublime. They are joined by important works by Edith Walker Cook, Elizabeth Gilbert Jerome, and others.
Working within a period dominated by male artists, these long-overlooked painters brought a distinctive sensitivity to their depictions of the land—favoring close observation, lyrical detail, and a quiet emotional immediacy. Through their unique interpretations of the Hudson River School’s ideals, they captured not only the natural beauty of the region but also its poetic and contemplative spirit. As scholarship and collecting continue to reassess their contributions, these artists are increasingly recognized for their vital role in shaping America’s landscape tradition.
This exhibition is organized in collaboration with Hawthorne Fine Art.
Read LessPrivate viewings are available upon request.
"The landscapes and choice bits of woodland scenes, which Mrs. Beers’ has exhibited in this city and Brooklyn, have made her name familiar to every lover of art. Ferns and lichens and birch trees have been so carefully studied in their native woods, that it has become a second nature to Mrs. Beers to portray them on canvas."
Specialist, American Art & Head of Modern Day Auction
Caroline Seabolt began her career in the Sotheby’s American Art department in 2014. Most recently, she spent over six years in the American Art department at Christie’s, where she was a Specialist and Head of Sale for bi-annual auctions of American Art. She is responsible for sourcing, selling and appraising important American Art for both auction and private sale. Ms. Seabolt maintains key relationships with buyers and sellers across the United States in a variety of collecting categories. She has brokered sales of important works by artists including Georgia O’Keeffe, Agnes Pelton, Andrew Wyeth, Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton and Jacob Lawrence.
Ms. Seabolt completed a Master of Arts degree in Art History from Hunter College in 2020. Her master’s thesis centered on the work of modernist painter Rebecca Salsbury James. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies and Art History from Georgetown University.
