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----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Dear Prof. Ryan I think the series you remember may be The Course of Empire - a set of five paintings by Thomas Cole (1801-1848). They are owned by the New York Historical Society and date 1834-1836. The separate titles are 1. Savage State 2.Arcadian State 3. Consummation 4. Destruction 5. Desolation. The are well illustrated and discussed in the exhibition catalogue Thomas Cole, Washington DC, National Museum of American Art 1994. Hope this helps. Cathie. On Wed, 22 Sep 1999 13:55:27 EDT Patrick Ryan <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- > Hello, > I'm a professor of American history, and I thought someone on the list mig > be able to help me locate a set of four paintings which depict the classical > republican stages of history - that is the rise and fall from agrarian > simplicity to civic virtue to imperial corruption to social disintegration. I > believe this artist was an American, but he may have been a European patronize > by Americans in the early nineteenth century. Trouble for me is that I can no > seem to recall where I saw this set, or any details relating to their > production. I associated them immediately with the ideology of the American > revolution, because I'm an American historian, but it's possible that they wer > produced during the Italian Renaissance. If I could have clues as to the > artists name, or of course the names of the paintings... I'd be grateful. > > Patrick Ryan > University of Texas at Dallas Dr.Catherine Gordon Deputy Witt Librarian Courtauld Institute of Art Somerset House Strand London, WC2R 0RN UK tel (UK)(0)207-848-2770 fax (UK)(0)207-848-2772