Frederic Edwin Church was a leading 19th-century American landscape painter and a key representative of the Hudson River School. He learned his craft from Thomas Cole, the founder of this movement. Church is known for his monumental paintings, which often depict dramatic natural scenes in great detail. His works also reflect a spiritual dimension, as he understood nature as an expression of divine creation. Today, Frederic Edwin Church is considered one of America's most influential landscape painters, whose work embodies 19th-century nature worship.