When Frederic Church died on April 7, 1900, he was badly inflicted by rheumatism, having long before abandoned the brush and the easel. But even with the paint tubes and terpentine-drenched rags out of the studio, he had been able to continue in his creative urges; he had found a new outlet in his dream of building a Persian villa. With this dream realised, he had helped usher in not only a new century, but a fanciful interlude in American architecture as well.
The leading figure among the so-called "Hudson River School" of painters, whose aim was the faithful depiction of nature, Church had attracted national as well as international attention with his beautiful paintings of the Americas. With his panorama of Niagara, Church awakened the American consciousness and helped his compatriots discover themselves and the vast aesthetic riches of their new continent. Called "an icon of the American democratic faith," this painting brought him phenomenal success and fame. His other well-known works include The Heart of the Andes (1859—now hanging in the Metropolitan Museum) and Twilight in the Wilderness (1860).
Searching for the peace and inspiration of the insular rural life, Church abandoned the social circles of New York City, and spent nearly half of his life on perfecting his dream, the living, perpetual canvas of Olana.
Church originally planned a provencal-style country house with all the necessary furnishings and appointments. During the first decade after the purchase of the land, Architect R.M. Hunt drew up plans for the "Cozy Cottage," as the Churches affectionately called their new country home. Then Church turned his attentions to the summit of the hill, and there he envisaged a French villa, according to the already-existing plans by his architect Mr. Hunt. Once he had acquired the 18-acre wooded lot at the top of the hill, he left with his new wife and their young son for an 18-month tour of Europe and the Middle East. This tour proved to be a turning point in Church's creativity and a guiding influence for the rest of his life.
Writing from the Middle East in 1868, Church mentioned that he had collected many useful ideas for his new home and praised the Arabic houses with their central courts, marble patterned pavements and flat roofs. His architect agreed: "The [Arabic] style shows what magical effects may be produced by light, recessed arcades, and . . . verandahs." From this point on, Olana became Church's compelling occupation. The ideas which he had massed n the Middle East were put down in hundreds of plans—totalling over 300—all showing meticulous control of detail. Church became his own designer, leaving his architect, Calvert Vaux, the creator of Central Park in New York City, only to assure that windows lined up, water flowed and foundations stood. When asked about his part in the planning of Olana, Church quipped: "I can say, as the good woman did about her mock turtle soup, 'I made it out of my own head.'"
Church's exposure to the Islamic architecture had been relatively brief, and he apparently sought assistance from specialist publications on the Arabic style: there are several books on the topic in his vast library. In any case, the Arabesque in Olana is delightfully individual in interpretation, and many of the Islamic motifs have been filtered through his fancy. "I am obliged to imagine Persian architecture," he wrote, "then embody it on paper and explain it to a lot of mechanics whose idea of architecture is wrapped up in felicitous recollections of a successful bricke [sic.] schoolhouse or a jail. Still I enjoy this being afloat on a vast ocean, paddling along in the dreamy belief that I shall reach the desired port in due time."
The estate was created like a painting: Church first drew pencilled sketches, then he made colour drawings and, finally, supervised its three-dimentional realisation. Olana is truly a work of art, meticulously preconceived many times over. The exterior reflects Church's masterful taste and style. It is a fanciful play of colour, texture, design and contour: large multicoloured bricks (over 300,000 of them) harmonise against windows, porches, balconies and towers, accented by coloured tiles. The main entrance is beautifully tiled, and an Arabic inscription Marhaba ("Hello and Welcome") greets the visitor from above the massive door. Upon entering the villa, the visitor is instantly caught up in a visual adventure. The first impression of having entered a new dimension is maintained by the flood of unexpected artistic and cultural visions. Wide doorways and windows line up so that the view of the breathtaking Catskill Mountains is available from any angle. It was Church's specific intention to use windows as deliberate frames for the inimitable display of nature's handiwork around the villa. The views were described by many a visitor with great enthusiasm: "Everywhere you look, [you see] vistas to shining oak boughs at hand, and dim blue mountains far beyond, middle distance being omitted because so far below."
Light inside the mansion was a primary concern. A dreamlike aura exudes from the amber glow emitted through a large, gently arched window covered with lacelike Islamic design. The opposite wall is glassed in and the view through the adjacent loggia—called the "Ombra"—is stunning. There are numberless windows, many in different shapes and styles, all showering the fantasyland interior with generous light. The interior belies somewhat the contemporary trends in room decorating, but in many aspects the design is avant garde, preluding the fin de siegle "Aesthetic" style.
But to Church, design was always more than mere decoration—it was fundamental. The artist wished to surround himself with beautiful things to stimulate his work and to impress his patrons. Consequently, the interior of the mansion is an extraordinary spectacle. Profuse colour, design and texture are brought into a harmonious order by the sure stroke of a master.
The central courtyard is the epitome of Church's genius: used as pivot point, it is not only an entrance to the surrounding rooms, but it also serves as an introduction to the spectacular colour scheme of the entire mansion. The overall colour palette features the rich, saturated colours of the last quarter of the 19th Century: celery green, gold-brown, purple, yellow, red and salmon. Silver and gold surround all the doorways. There is profuse, fanciful stencilling on the doors, door frames, arches and walls, mingled with Arabic calligraphy. The detailed work on the interior took several years to complete.
Olana is a museum of fine arts, rich in bronzes, paintings, sculptures, antiques and art specimens from all over the world. Persian carpets cover all the possible floor space and the grand staircase. Carpets also serve as curtains across the landing of the stairs, creating a feeling of a stage, set for a fanciful dream of the exotic lands of the "1001 Arabian Nights." On many an occasion, the Churches would entertain themselves and their guests improvising tableaux vivants in authentic costumes from around the world.
Some of the furniture was designed by Church himself, but antiques and precious imports abound. Rare objects d'artcreate eclectic still-life arrangements, all skillfully chosen and placed by Church. The mansion also houses a considerable art collection, which includes 800 of Church's own works. The major painting displayed is hanging in Mrs. Church's study above the mantelpiece, a large canvas of Al Khasne in Petra, Jordan. The massive rocks of Al Khasne are depicted in shades of salmon, which are echoed throughout the study and carried into the neighbouring rooms as well. The dining room was conceived as a medieval castle court—although in modest dimensions—with a high vaulted ceiling. It doubles as a gallery for Church's collection of "improved" Old Masters. (Church would retouch or even repaint some of the old works to make them more acceptable to him.) The gallery's lighting is provided by a row of tall windows on one wall, set high, reaching to the ceiling. The walls are left bare and painted light to allow a neutral setting for the paintings. Here is also found an exquisite fireplace with a brass foreplate, skillfully forged in traditional Persian style, imported from India. The fireplace is further adorned by a whimsical collection of brass miniatures housed in tiny compartments above the foreplate.
The original landscape is still largely intact, and is regarded as a leading example of the "Picturesque Style." It complements the natural surroundings and the romantic villa. As if feeling that no more could be accomplished by paints and brushes, Church launched a painstaking, detailed planning of the environs: "I can make more and better landscapes in this way than tempering with canvas and brush in the studio." For some thirty years he was thus occupied: "For several seasons after I selected this spot as my home, I thought of hardly anything but planting trees, and had thousands and thousands of them set out on the southern and western slopes." Every detail was carefully planned.
Flower and vegetable gardens were no less stringently planned. The Churches resisted the contemporary craze of sculptured flowerbeds cut geometrically into the lawn; they preferred a more spontaneous, natural look for their gardens.
Several miles of carriage roads wind up to the villa, never loosing sight of it, passing a lake which was excavated
by 1875. The lake was to serve a manifold purpose: to provide water for the farm and the livestock, ice for
winter sports and the kitchen, and to add to the overall design of the estate. "There is nothing like water to
provide more beauty, variety and interest," Church explained. "About an hour this side of Albany [New York]
is the Center of the World," claimed Church, adding, "I own it."
As the creator of his own micro-universe, Church might have struck as being egocentric, but his efforts in translating what he had learned to love into the tangible visions embodied in Olana are a gesture of a great man whose secondary aim was to please his public. Combining his obvious material wealth with his intuitive artistic riches, Church has left a rare legacy that will continue to touch the contemplative art aficionados for generations to come. In 1966 the State of New York purchased the Olana estate from Church's family with the aim of restoring the house and its grounds to the original state and preserving them as they were in the time of Church's death.
Thanks to Church's own photographic documentation of Olana—and the fact that his family, who lived in Olana until 1964, never discarded anything of Church's valued possessions—it has been possible to retain the estate much as Church had intended it to be. Today it is treasured as a historic site, with a team of experts restoring and maintaining it under the aegis of the State of New York.
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This page was created on August 17, 1998
Most recent revision: March 5, 2007