Thomas Cole National Historic Site and Gallery 495 announce joint exhibition

CATSKILL―The Thomas Cole National Historic Site and Gallery 495 have announced the joint presentation of the exhibition “Paradise Found: Contemporary Paintings by Lauren Sansaricq.”

The exhibition, which will open on June 20, includes a total of about 20 paintings by Sansaricq, a resident of the Hudson Valley whose artistry is greatly influenced by Thomas Cole.

The joint presentation enables her work to be viewed in two distinctly different but highly relevant settings both in the heart of Catskill: the historic home of Thomas Cole, where the paintings will be installed in his 1839 Studio, and a white-walled gallery on Main Street.

Raised in Columbia County, Sansaricq grew up immersed in the natural beauty that first inspired Cole and his contemporaries. From an early age, she absorbed not only the visual language of the Hudson River School but its deeper conviction: that communion with nature is a transcendental experience, capable of revealing moral and spiritual truths. In an era increasingly mediated by AI, photography, and digital tools, Sansaricq’s practice stands as a quiet resistance. Like Cole, she insists on direct encounter, on presence. She works entirely from life, without photographic or digital aids, grounding her paintings in lived experience rather than technological mediation.

“I want to make paintings with my feet upon the soil, my eyes upon the scene, and my heart open to the beauty of nature before me,” Sansaricq says.

“I hope my paintings convey that feeling of awe and wonderment that I so often feel in nature. By studying the simple beauty of nature, we can gain a true understanding of oneself, and moreover the spiritual tissue that connects us all. By studying nature in any manner—whether through painting, writing, or simply observing—one starts to see broader themes, such as death, rebirth, and the ever-changing cycle of all things, and that we too are a part of this beautiful cycle,” Sansaricq added.

Sansaricq’s paintings do not nostalgically reenact the Hudson River School; they extend its ethical and spiritual inquiry into the present moment. Like Thomas Cole, she reminds us that landscape is never just landscape—it is a mirror, an invitation to remember our place within the living world.

Her paintings are held in collections across the United States, Europe, and Australia.

The exhibition will open on Saturday, June 20, at both locations and run through Sunday, August 9. Gallery 495 is located at 495 Main Street in Catskill. The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is located at 218 Spring Street in Catskill.