  About the Artwork
  
  
  The implied viewer stands a few feet from the rushing waters of a stream. The title tells us that we are in fact standing at the precipice of Kaaterskill Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in the eastern United States. instead of showing the falls, the artist, Thomas Cole, wanted his viewers to imagine its height based on the vast vista of the ravine into which it leaps.

Kaaterskill Falls is located about fifteen miles west of the Hudson River in New York State. Cole first saw the falls in late 1825, and  his paintings of the site helped make it famous.By the time he visited the falls, a local businessman had constructed a viewing platform at its top and was selling light refreshments to tourists. But Cole wanted to emphasize the wild sublimity of the scene, so he deleted all evidence of tourism from his painting.
  
  
  Title
  From the Top of Kaaterskill Falls
  
  
  Artwork Date
  1826
  
  Artist
  Thomas Cole
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1801-1848
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  American
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Oil on canvas
  
  
  Dimensions
  Unframed: 31 1/8 × 41 1/8 inches (79.1 × 104.5 cm)
  Framed: 42 1/4 × 52 1/8 × 3 1/4 inches (107.3 × 132.4 × 8.3 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Paintings
  
  
  Department
  American Art before 1950
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  46.134
  
  
  Copyright
  This work is in the public domain.
