Explore the Dream Home of Frederic Edwin Church: The Masterpiece He Lived In (Olana) 

Great to know that this house has survived

It always makes me so happy when you start to blend in current day’s pictures and I’m shown that This House was not torn down and can be toured by all to this day!

It's so surprising that Church was considered the foremost American landscape painter of his day and so few have heard of him today.

I've been here many times. It's beautiful! You did a great job on the video! Thank you!

What an amazing home. So many amazing details were included in this home. Very happy to see this home still appreciated today.

Having spent many, many pleasurable hours enjoying the Hudson River Valley, I always remember seeing this striking home sitting high above the river valley and wondering what it was and who lived there. I later found out the name but regretfully, never investigated it more thoroughly, being preoccupied with Hyde Park, Rhinebeck, Peekskill, West Point, Garrison, Boscobel and the stunningly majestic Storm King and Breakneck Ridge area just north of Cold Spring. Now, seeing the views from this house back towards the river and learning the history of Church and his vision of nature, I regret not further exploring this incredible house. I seem to remember that the estate was closed to the general public at the time (mid 1990s) and was only available by special permission. What a beautiful house! If you've never visited the Hudson River Valley just north of NYC and Westchester County, you are missing one of the most beautiful, iconic and historical areas in America. I miss it very much. Great post!

What a stunner! This might be my favorite house of all so far. And it's close enough for me to visit in the spring. Thanks for bringing this one to our attention.

The black and white photos don't capture the amazing colors Frederick used inside. Olana is a true architectural masterpiece. Someday, I want to visit.

I HAVE VISITED THIS HOUSE, ITS BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDINGS AND HUDSON RIVER VIEWS. DEFINITELY WORTH THE TRIP.

This was so enjoyable. Thank you for including all the paintings and giving us a good history of the man who created this masterpiece of a house.

Originality knows no bounds! And to be able to change is the mark of intelligence. Very interesting. Thank you for all the information. TS

Wow what an amazing real life story! So glad this house has been preserved.

First let me say, Olana, what a wonderful home, interior and exterior. Frederic Edwin Church was an artist unfamiliar to me. His story is romantic, almost reaching rhapsodic. Church's paintings are almost ethereal in their beauty and detail. His home is a fantasy and the surrounding landscape, is breathtaking. His death a month after his lifelong partner and wife, is a real life tearjerker. Their journey to recover from the tragedy of losing their children is no less compelling. His encouraging and nurturing father seems almost too good to be true. Finally, he learned to paint left-handed and taught others, making him some kind of Bodhisattva at this point of the story. At the very least it's a movie storyline and the sets have already been built. Who in Hollywood could play the leading role and do him justice? None, I say. I almost forgot I was watching a post about a house. Thanks for adding texture to the tale. It really helps to understand the artist, architect and the man.

This is one of the best I've seen on this channel, I love it. And I wish I could have known him, fascinating man.

Thanks Ken for sharing this magnificent mansion!!! It certainly is a beautiful home!!! Happy Holidays!!! 🎄⛄🤶

This has been my most anticipated architecture destination for the past 40 years. I learned of it in my teens and have trying to get there since. One of these days I'll make it and they'll have to drag me out.i lo e it with it's mixture of so many styles, a true artist's home built by the artist.

Truely amazing!

One of the greatest artists ever!!!

What and interesting and beautiful home for a great artist. Thank you Ken for showing around this home.

Wow, what great home!

Olana is a magical place. It is worth a visit and a tour. You can't possibly see it all, so this video was a helpful flashback!

I’ve been there. It’s a beautiful house. The trails around it are nice too.

Too busy for me, but my wife will love it. I'll take it.

Absolutely beautiful house Ken , hope to see more of your personal tours in the future

I went on a private tour a few years ago. So worth the visit!

Love the narration. Not mechanical but loving. Well-written script. No duplication in information. An anomaly compared to so many of today’s poorly researched “educational” videos.

Cozy Cottage was adorable as well! What a great video!

I had the opportunity to visit Olana. It's beauty has no words! Ty for this video!!

Thank you for including Olana on your channel!

Excellent background information of the man. His paintings are so beautiful as well as his home which is also his handiwork. Thank you for this video.

Interesting how this blends.

As a former NY state department of parks and rec staffer, will confirm Olana filming is usually highly considered after an incident when adult entertainment was filmed onsite.

Another great video Ken! Thanks! Since I live in New York I knew about Church’s house but never made it there. So nice to see it! The house is beautiful, but the interiors strike me as rather eccentric.

I'm from the Hudson Valley. I've been here many times. Beautiful view of the Hudson River from here.

I studied Olana when I was younger just on my own. Visually eating up every picture of the interiors. Never considered what you said in your narration, "international style". Even though Mr. Church was mixing this with that, it just struck me revisiting the interiors, it's still Victorian!. Pattern upon pattern. And details upon details. I think the only thing I HADN'T noticed was when you talked about the only delineation between rooms was the arches. Very unique and interesting!!. As a general rule, I dislike "open concept" living. Why? Because you can't get a new perspective or mindset. You're in ONE room!. I love multi room spaces with doors. Ya can change your whole mood stepping into another space and closing the door!. So great to go back to Olana!👍🌟

He’s always been one of my favorite painters. I didn’t know about his gorgeous house though. I’d love to visit there someday.

This is definitely my favorite video you have made so far! What a wonderful home that we could actually go visit!

I had never heard of this place until this past Halloween--I drove down to the town of Catskill to return an errant library book that was in a "little free library," and then searched for a nice hike nearby. This came up, and I went. WOW. I have been again since, and it will be a regular on my hiking routes. Thank you for the wonderful history!

I enjoy watching your videos and showing these beautiful homes and giving the history behind them. What a fascinating story.

Nice video! What you missed mentioning is the amazing views out of the windows on the first floor (all that I got to see on the tour we took). Beautiful vistas in every direction. The house was totally planned to bring the outside into the house. Gorgeous light.

Fascinating story and illuminating with regard to Frederic Church. Olana has echoes of Leighton House in London also built by an artist with a strong Islamic design some ten years before Church. Will definitely look this up next time I’m in the Hudson Valley. Thank you.

I have visited his house. Worth the trip. Patty

Capricious and a delight to the eye. 😀

Nicely done. I was moved and saddened when you mentioned the loss of his wife and how he died soon after. Not the first instance I've heard of something like this with a creative genius. Having found that special partner, which wouldn't be easy, the loss would be immeasurable. Amazing house - I'm glad it still preserved. Always loved Church's paintings as well.

at minute 5:39 you can see above the door in the middle of the room the Arabic inscription Marhaba which means welcome

I know this is about the house but the Iceberg painting of his is a always a highlight whenever I visit the Dallas Art Museum.

Considered by many to be the most beautiful house in America. Its setting is as spectacular as the house...in the most tastefully subdued way.

Wonderful feature!!!! I'd love to visit this house someday! :)

The roofline reminds me of the 1930s addition to Eltham Palace in south London ❤

The Greenport, NY in this video refers to the TOWNSHIP of GREENPORT within COLUMBIA COUNTY, NY. The city of Hudson, NY is also located in Columbia county on the Hudson River. Hudson, NY was once the home of New York's whaling fleet (during the 1800's) The VILLAGE of Greenport, NY is located in the township of SOUTHOLD, NY; which is within SUFFOLK county , NY; on Long Island, NY The Village of Greenport, NY is located on the north fork of eastern Long Island along Pipes Cove which is part of Peconic Bay (the bay is between the north and south forks). Greenport (village) NY was once home to fishing, and scallop-dredging fleets. It is now, mostly, a location for summer homes. Strangely enough, sometimes people from New York City, who are not familiar with the other areas of New York state will confuse the area of GREENPOINT, NY with the village of Greenport, NY GREENPOINT, NY "is the the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in Kings county of the U.S. state of New York." (Google maps) The counties of Kings and Queens are on the western-most portion of Long Island."

Very interesting background on the painter and his home. Thanks

The top floors from the exterior are so GOTHIC that it reminds me of the house used for "The Munsters" (1960s fantasy sitcom). 😏😏

Very interesting and enjoyable as well. Thank you!

I heen in Olana several times. It is a magical place with wondering forrest paths. The interior is small and compact, chucked full of aesthetic treasures.Too bad Church's studio was not shown.

How inspiring!

Great video, I've got to visit this place! Thank you!

Completely amazing

Amazing house.

Such beautiful paintings and a wonderful presentation by you. Thank you for telling this story and "artfully" weaving his paintings throughout.

Beautiful.

"International style" aka ultimate kitsch or how America invented its own style … great video… with the Cloisters in NYC and Frank L Wright should be an introduction to American Art from then to Andy Warhol … Love it. Thanks for posting.

What a revelation, Ken!

Throughout the video, I had trouble seeing if it was a painting or a picture. Lol, he literally made photos threw his paintings. They were so good

I’ve taken art history. I still have never heard of this “americas greatest artist.”

One of my favorite walking outings.

I guess that I will never understand how the rich can live with themselves when so many have so little. I find greatness in a caring heart.

Thank you

Very nice video. His paintings help us understand his (fantastic) sensibility

Cool house!

I took art history in a community college for only one semester.. it wasn't offered the next semester, sadly, but the textbook was over $90, and I still own it nearly 30 years later. I still flip & read through (it occasionally it weighs over 30 lbs) and the book covers every medium & era in relation to art. I haven't come across this artist's name or works, nor had I heard of him which is a shame. I will definitely look more into his works. What a great life he lived, and his home is solid proof of it. Thank you.

Good man.

Romantic

This is a beautiful property. Some of Church’s paintings are at Vassers art gallery. Which isn’t that far from Olana.

Really grateful for your videos, there are great inspiration, as for artist and a writer. Thank you and Happy New year!

Interesting. I'm going to try and find pics of the landscaping. Its artful development intrigues me. Thank you for the lovely videos!

Quirky. I think he should have just stuck to painting (left hand or with his feet) and/or teaching. His artwork is simply breathtaking. Thanks for the video.

I have been on the grounds of Olana several times. I would recommend just driving through the grounds-which are considerable. The Mansion itself is fine but nothing compared to local homes like Vanderbilt (Hyde Park), Mills Mansion ( Staatsburgh) or Samuel Morse (Poughkeepsie).

Reminds me of Chillingbourne.

At 5:35, the window above the doors across the room says “marhaba”, which means Hello in Arabic. We are seeing the back side of the window, or it is backwards in the photo.

Lots of Murphy's Oil Soap. I'm interested in the grounds and wish you would of walked around the outside some more.

Back in the 70s they allowed a version of 'Alice in Wonderland' to be filmed there. The problem was, after it was released, they found out it was a porn flick. I lived not far from there.

English subtitles please! Ty, Tina Lopez

Olana is in Hudson NY on the banks of the Hudson River.

I wonder, you mention Church had planned Carriage roads on the property. Did those survive? Are they available for carriage driving? I don't imagine there is a lot to go around with only a hundred-fifty acres or so. Certainly nothing like Acadia N.P, but still. I was wondering.

Small correction here: the first name is spelled Frederic

What a magnificent American artistic lifestyle to portray! The home of Church and his beloved reminds me, as a son of Philadelphia, of the fancifully brilliant architecture of Frank Furness whose architectural legacy from the same time frame I urge everyone who appreciated this superb video to research! Thank you immensely, This House, for revealing this deeper view into an artist whom I had only known because of his Thomas Cole tradition paintings!

America's greatest artist? What's that all about?

that's different.

Wondering, who bought that “most expensive painting “? JIM ❤

If I recall we were not permitted to photograph inside the house which was a major disappointment

I have my degree in Fine Arts and we never learned about him 😂 We definitely learned about Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School. I would say Mary Cassatt or Georgia O’Keeffe are way more famous than this guy who I have never even heard of. I think most famous, is definitely just click bait.

John Baldessari didnt live there?

This house looks so Romanian!

CORRECTION: The narration of this video is wrong. The manstion is in Hudson, NY which is near Albany, NY. Greenport, NY is out near the north eastern end of Long Island, NY just before you get to Orient Point.

I never lived there, so your post title is incorrect.

Always stimulating to look at the life of an artist. So interesting that when he discovered Darwin, he took himself out of his artwork. Much like Darwin took humanity out of life and gave us a distorted and misleading future until DNA knowledge through his theory out where it belonged.

I hate to be the one naysayer here but no no nope! What a menagerie! When I lived on the East Coast I toured a few Hudson River Estates and that was one we never bothered to see. I've lived all over the world and I have tapestries and other things from all these different cultures but I would never ever imagine building a house mixing Persian and Italianate Etc and then filling it with so much from all over the planet. I suppose if it was to be their home for their golden years they wanted to be surrounded by all of those memories but no..

So far as I know, the Hudson River Valley does not run through Greenport.

Compare with Hunter; we are in cultural freefall.

Ken, I appreciate your work and look forward to your videos. I have a recommendation for you: please learn to pronounce “idyllic” and “dentil” correctly. i-DILL-ick and DEN-til, not ideal-ick or den-teal.