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THOMAS COLE(1801 - 1848) American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School, a realist whose works offered detailed portrayals of nature. Scarce, nice content A.L.S. 1p. legal folio, Catskill, Dec. 13, 1842, to American art connoisseur J.P. Ridner in New York. In part: "...The picture is finished, but I have had great difficulty in consequence of the River being closed, in forwarding it in a manner to ensure its safety. As a last resort I have had to employ a boy who will deliver the Box containing the picture to you...The picture I consider one of the best I have ever painted & I have labored to get it done...I hope it will not get into any obscure place & that whoever gets it will be a resident of N. York. I myself would be willing to give the smaller Schroon picture, I mean the Lake, & a hundred dollars for it. Of course I do not wish you to mention this...I assure you I have never painted a picture for five hundred dollars that I would exchange for it. The subject of course in my eyes adds much to [the] value...". Ridner was the author of The Artists' Chromatic Hand Book (1851). Moderate staining, small tear at left margin, but overall very good.