El Rio de Luz (The River of Light)

Frederic Edwin Church

1877 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order — or upgrade to Express ($14.9) at checkout. Most orders arrive in ~4–8 business days (Express 2–4).

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

El Rio de Luz (The River of Light)

Aurora Borealis

Cotopaxi

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

Choose different prints →

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Ships worldwide in 3–6 business days after production

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

Secure checkout via Stripe

About this work

Artist: Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900)
Year: 1877
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 138.1 × 213.7 cm
Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Movement: Hudson River School

A still river winds through dense tropical forest towards a dawn haze that dissolves earth into sky; birds fly low over the water, a tiny figure in a canoe is about to vanish into the mist, and a hut shows on the right bank. Church painted it in 1877 as his last large South American landscape, built like The Heart of the Andes from sketches made twenty years earlier but altogether more intimate: a single place and climate seen from the water's edge rather than a continent surveyed from a height. He exhibited it in 1877 as A Tropical Morning and sent it to the Paris Exposition of 1878. By then his reputation was waning and critics called such pictures theatrical; later scholars have seen in it a vision of a new Eden. It came to the National Gallery of Art in Washington in 1965.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A still river through dense forest dissolving into dawn haze, with a canoe about to vanish, for a bedroom, bathroom or quiet living room at 24×36 in black or natural oak. Sage, cream or soft grey; the most intimate Church, and it calms a room.

Style: Exhibition poster of a Hudson River School painting
Era: 19th century (1877)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: calm
Rooms: living room, dining room, dorm room, hallway or entryway
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; 12×18 and 16×24 and 24×36 also available framed in black or natural wood • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Produced in 2–4 business days, then shipped from the facility nearest you. Delivery is typically 3–6 business days (US/UK/EU) and 5–12 worldwide. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is El Rio de Luz (The River of Light) in the public domain?

Yes. Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by National Gallery of Art.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; the two larger sizes are also offered framed. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was El Rio de Luz (The River of Light) painted, and in what medium?

El Rio de Luz (The River of Light) dates from 1877 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 138.1 × 213.7 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

For a standard three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 inches reads as a single statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pairing. The print's proportions follow the original, so a landscape-format painting is wider than it is tall.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Frederic Edwin Church's El Rio de Luz — El Rio de Luz — a tropical river at dawn, mist rising through palms and flowering vines — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Wonders of the New World: The Hudson River School, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Three sizes (12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in); the 16×24 and 24×36 are also offered framed. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in ~4–8 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

Also available as