Niagara

1854–1856

Canada, New England and Mount Desert Island

Church travelled in Canada and New England; like Cole, he was among the first city dwellers to summer on Mount Desert Island in Maine, now Acadia National Park.

1857

Second South American journey, with Louis Rémy Mignot

Church returned to South America with the painter Louis Rémy Mignot and added to his sketches; the two journeys produced “The Andes of Ecuador”, “Cayambe”, “The Heart of the Andes” and “Cotopaxi”.

1859

A one-picture show: “The Heart of the Andes” in New York

Thousands paid to see the canvas: its huge floor-standing frame served as a window onto the Andes, visitors sat on benches and studied the details through opera glasses, and Church arranged the room so that light from the skylights fell on the picture. It was an instant success; at this exhibition Church met his future wife, Isabel Carnes.

1859

To the icebergs: Newfoundland and Labrador

His friendship with the Arctic explorer Isaac Israel Hayes stirred Church’s interest in the far north, and with his friend the Rev. Louis Legrand Noble he travelled to Newfoundland and Labrador. Noble chronicled the trip in “After Icebergs with a Painter” (1861), published shortly before “The Icebergs” went on display.