Cole’s extraordinary series chronicles each stage of human life: childhood, youth, manhood, and old age.
Thomas Cole, The Voyage of Life (Childhood, Youth, Manhood, Old Age), 1842, oil on canvas, Childhood 134.3 x 195.3 cm; Youth 134.3 x 194.9 cm; Manhood 134.3 x 202.6 cm; Old Age 133.4 x 196.2 cm, original commission by Samuel Ward dates to 1839–40; those canvases are now in the Munson-Williams-Proctor-Arts-Institute in Utica, NY; the set at the National Gallery of Art is a copy made by the artist in Europe after tracings of the original so that Cole could publicly display the paintings and sell engravings from the set (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.). Speakers: Dr. Bryan Zygmont and Dr. Steven Zucker
