10 Facts About Samuel Colman

Samuel Colman was an American painter, interior designer, and writer, probably best remembered for his paintings of the Hudson River.

Samuel Colman is believed to have studied briefly under the Hudson River School painter Asher Durand, and he exhibited his first work at the National Academy of Design in 1850.

Samuel Colman was able to paint in a romantic style, which had become more fashionable after the Civil War.

Samuel Colman was an inveterate traveler, and many of his works depict scenes from foreign cities and ports.

Samuel Colman often depicted the architectural features he encountered on his travels: cityscapes, castles, bridges, arches, and aqueducts feature prominently in his paintings of foreign scenes.

In 1866, Samuel Colman was one of the founders of the American Watercolor Society, and he became its first president from 1867 to 1871.

Samuel Colman was an early member of the New York Etching Club, and published popular etchings depicting European scenes.

Samuel Colman became a major collector of Asian decorative objects, and wrote two books on geometry and art, one of which was entitled Nature's Harmonic Unity, the other which was entitled Proportional Form.

Samuel Colman was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.

Storm King on the Hudson, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum; one of Samuel Colman's best known works.