Bucolic scene in the Hudson River Valley of New York State n the 1860's with a log cabin, farm animals grazing and men fishing in a canoe. Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, perhaps best known for painting large panoramic landscapes, often depicting mountains, waterfalls, and sunsets.