Thomas Cole’s four-part series The Voyage of Life traces a pilgrim’s journey through changing landscapes along the “River of Life” from childhood to old age. The allegorical paintings were the Hudson River School painter’s attempt to convey the word of God through landscape.
From the innocence of childhood to the flush of youthful confidence, through the trials of middle age and finally, to divine salvation, The Voyage of Life evokes the Christian doctrine of death and resurrection. Cole's intrepid voyager can also be interpreted as a personification of America—a country at its own adolescent stage of development.
See the four paintings together with explanatory texts Cole wrote to accompany each painting.
