TheHudsonRiverValleywasthefirsticonicAmericanlandscape.Beginningasearlyasthe1820s,artistsandwritersfoundnewwaysofthinkingaboutthehumanrelationshipwiththenaturalworldalongtheHudson.Here,amidthemostdramaticriverandmountainsceneryintheeasternUnitedStates,WashingtonIrvingandJamesFenimoreCoopercreatedadistinctlyAmericanliterature,groundedinfolkloreandhistory,thatcontributedtotheemergenceofasenseofplaceinthevalley.Painters,ledbyThomasCole,foundedtheHudsonRiverSchool,widelyrecognizedasthefirsttrulynationalstyleofart.Asthecenturyadvancedandaslandscapeandhistorybecameincreasinglyintertwinedinthenationalconsciousness,anaestheticidentitytookshapeintheregionthroughliterature,art,memory,andfolklore--evengardensanddomesticarchitecture.InSanctifiedLandscape,DavidSchuylerrecountsthisstoryofAmerica’sidealizationoftheHudsonValleyduringthenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturies.Schuyler’sstoryunfoldsduringatimeofgreatchangeinAmericanhistory.AttheverymomentwhenartistsandwriterswereexploringtheaestheticpotentialoftheHudsonValley,thetransportationrevolutionandtheriseofindustrialcapitalismweretransformingtheregion.ThefirstgenerationofAmericantouriststraveledfromNewYorkCitytoCozzensHotelandtheCatskillMountainHouseinsearchofthepicturesque.Thosewhocouldaffordtolivesomedistancefromjobsinthecitybuiltsuburbanhomesorcountryestates.Giventhesemomentouschanges,itisnotsurprisingthathistoricpreservationemergedintheHudsonValley:thefirstbuildingintheUnitedStatespreservedforitshistoricsignificanceisWashington’sHeadquartersinNewburgh.SchuyleralsofindstheseedsofthemodernenvironmentalmovementinthetransformationoftheHudsonValleylandscape.Richlyillustratedandcompellinglywritten,SanctifiedLandscapemakesforrewardingreading.Schuylerexpertlytieslocalhistorytonationaldevelopments,revealingwhytheHudsonRiverValleywassoimportanttonineteenth-centuryAmericans--andwhyitisstillbelovedtoday.
