Founded in 1791, the Albany Institute of History & Art is one of the oldest museums in the United States. Enjoy almost ninety paintings in their world renowned Hudson River School collection. Landscapes painted by such artists as Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, Jasper Cropsey and Asher Durant, capture America’s scenic grandeur in all its magnificence from rugged coastal scenery to imposing mountains and rivers as they reveal a visual history of 19^th century America.

Click here for a New York Times article on the Hudson River School exhibit, including present day photographs of landscapes painted over a century ago.

Other special exhibits include:

A Menagerie of Whimsey: The Art of William B. Schade  
A whimsical cast of furred and feathered creatures appears before us as if from the enchanted dream of a child.

Thomas Cole’s Paper Trail
Early drawings, prints, letters, handwritten poems.