Portraiture was also important but [[landscape|landscapes]] and folk customs began to express in this period. The first painting school of American art was the Hudson River of landscape painters ([[The Hudson River School]] style involved carefully detailed paintings with romantic, almost glowing lighting); [[Asher Brown Durand]] (1796-1886) and [[Thomas Cole]] (1801-1848) were prominent artists of this School. [[Frederic Edwin Church]] (1826 – 1900) was also a landscape painter. He was a central figure in this Hudson River School. [[Albert Bierstadt]] was also part of the Hudson River School (not an institution but rather an informal group of like-minded painters). [[George Caleb Bingham]] (1811-1879), artist of Missouri and the American Frontier, is best known for his genre scenes. His artworks include portrait, [[Genre Painting Gallery|genre]], landscape, and [[Historical Painting|history painting]] but [[Portraiture]] was by far George’s most prolific artistic genre. His paintings rank among the nation’s greatest art treasures. <ref> [http://www.georgecalebbingham.org/bio.htm George Caleb Bingham.] </ref> [[William Morris Hunt]] (1824 – 1879) a [[Barbizon School]]/Tonalist painter trained with [[Jean-François Millet]] started the American Barbizon School in Boston. | Portraiture was also important but [[landscape|landscapes]] and folk customs began to express in this period. The first painting school of American art was the Hudson River of landscape painters ([[The Hudson River School]] style involved carefully detailed paintings with romantic, almost glowing lighting); [[Asher Brown Durand]] (1796-1886) and [[Thomas Cole]] (1801-1848) were prominent artists of this School. [[Frederic Edwin Church]] (1826 – 1900) was also a landscape painter. He was a central figure in this Hudson River School. [[Albert Bierstadt]] was also part of the Hudson River School (not an institution but rather an informal group of like-minded painters). [[George Caleb Bingham]] (1811-1879), artist of Missouri and the American Frontier, is best known for his genre scenes. His artworks include portrait, [[Genre Painting Gallery|genre]], landscape, and [[Historical Painting|history painting]] but [[Portraiture]] was by far George’s most prolific artistic genre. His paintings rank among the nation’s greatest art treasures. <ref> [http://www.georgecalebbingham.org/bio.htm George Caleb Bingham.] </ref> [[William Morris Hunt]] (1824 – 1879) a [[Barbizon School]]/Tonalist painter trained with [[Jean-François Millet]] started the American Barbizon School in Boston. |