Olana State Historic Site
Olana State Historic Site is a historic house museum and landscape in Greenport, New York, near the city of Hudson. The estate was home to Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900), one of the major figures in the Hudson River School of landscape painting. The centerpiece of Olana is an eclectic villa which overlooks parkland and a working farm designed by the artist. The residence has a wide view of the Hudson River Valley, the Catskill Mountains and the Taconic Range. Church and his wife Isabel (1836–1899) named their estate after a fortress-treasure house in ancient Greater Persia (modern-day Armenia), which also overlooked a river valley.[2]
Location
250.2 acres (101.3 ha)
1870–72
02111.000001
October 15, 1966
June 22, 1965
June 23, 1980
Olana is one of the few intact artists' home-, studio- and estate-complexes in the United States; it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[1][3] The house is also a prime example of Orientalist architecture.[2] It is owned and operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and is also supported by The Olana Partnership, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.[4] The main building is an architectural masterpiece designed by Frederic Church in consultation with the architect Calvert Vaux.[1][5][6] The stone, brick, and polychrome-stenciled villa is a mixture of Victorian, Persian[3] and Moorish styles.[7] The interior remains much as it was during Church's lifetime, exotically furnished and decorated with objects from his global travels, and with some 40 paintings by Church and his friends. The house is intricately stenciled inside and out; Church designed the stencils based on his travels in the Middle East. The house contains Church's last studio, built as an addition from 1888 to 1890.
Tower at the south corner of the house
Detail of the southwest facade
Studio addition at the northeast
Closeup of the piazza and studio tower
Restoration and management[edit]
Olana is managed by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, with support from the Olana Partnership.[4] Both work to restore Olana to its 1890s appearance. A large museum and archive, part of the original Church property, is open to the public and includes over 700 works by Church as well as thousands of works of art by other artists, including paintings by Martin Johnson Heade, Arthur Parton and John Thomas Peele and numerous works by Church's close friend, the sculptor Erastus Dow Palmer. The archive, open to scholars, contains letters, scrapbooks, bills, receipts and other ephemera.[27] A visitor center is housed in the former carriage house, and an upstairs bedroom has been converted into the Evelyn and Maurice Sharp Gallery, which shows changing exhibitions of artwork drawn mainly from the archival collections.
The site was closed during the 2006 season for extensive renovation. Stencils on the walls were stabilized and new carpeting was laid in the Court Hall. Curators and conservators performed rehabilitation work on furniture, upholstery and textiles. Fire safety and climate-control systems were improved. Commissioner Carol Ash said at the re-opening in May 2007, "The installation of new state-of-the-art equipment underscores the commitment of New York State to protect this remarkable historic landmark, and we look forward to once again showcasing the unique collections and extraordinary landscapes of one of our most important cultural resources."[28]
The former wagon house in the barn complex now houses educational programs. Future plans include a reconstruction of the wagon house and a stabilization of the main barn, to better fit their role as year-round centers for education.[28] Olana has been cited as an innovative example of a public-private partnership.[29] Olana advocates the preservation of its viewshed by encouraging donations of scenic easements on properties and by discouraging development of industrial projects, such as a proposed cement plant[30] and a proposed power plant.[31]
Visitation[edit]
Olana is in the south part of Greenport, New York, in Columbia County, south of Hudson and east of Catskill. By car, the estate can be reached from New York State Route 9G, less than an hour's drive south of Albany. The nearest Amtrak train station is in Hudson. The grounds are open during the day throughout the year and the original carriage roads are accessible. Organized tours of the residence are generally available Tuesday through Sunday, and holiday Mondays, from April to October. From November to March, tours are conducted Friday through Sunday. Reservations for house tours are recommended.[36] Photography is permitted anywhere on the grounds, including the interior of the house. The Hudson River Skywalk, a pedestrian walkway across the Rip Van Winkle Bridge opened in 2019, connects the site to the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill.[37][38]