The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire

Thomas Cole

1836 · Oil on canvas · New-York Historical Society

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire

The Course of Empire: Desolation

The Course of Empire: Destruction

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

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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

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About this work

Artist: Thomas Cole (1801–1848)
Year: 1836
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 130.2 × 193 cm
Collection: New-York Historical Society
Movement: Hudson River School
Series: The Course of Empire

The third and largest canvas of The Course of Empire, the midpoint and climax of the cycle. The valley has vanished beneath a marble city of colonnades, domes, terraces and fountains, and a triumphal procession crosses a bridge to cheering crowds; the harbour is crowded with galleys and the sky is the clear noon of high summer. Only the boulder on its crag, visible above the buildings, identifies the place. Cole painted it in 1836 for Luman Reed, who died the same year. The architecture is Greco-Roman, and American viewers, surrounded by revived classical public buildings, could read the series as a warning. Cole advertised it with lines from Byron's Childe Harold: first freedom and then glory, and when that fails, wealth, vice, corruption. The five paintings are in the New-York Historical Society.

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 marble city of colonnades and fountains at clear noon with a triumphal procession, the largest of the five, for a living room, dining room or hallway at 24×36 in black. Cream, warm grey or deep blue; the centre of the sequence.

Style: Exhibition poster of a Hudson River School painting
Era: 19th century (1836)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: grand
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 The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire in the public domain?

Yes. Thomas Cole (1801–1848) 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 New-York Historical Society.

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 The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire painted, and in what medium?

The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire dates from 1836 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 130.2 × 193 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 Thomas Cole's The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire — The Consummation of Empire — a marble city crowded with triumphal processions beneath a noon sky — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. 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.

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