Cotopaxi and Cayambe from Quito, Ecuador

Frederic Edwin Church's pencil sketches capture two of Ecuador's most prominent peaks as observed from Quito. The upper study depicts smoke or steam rising from Cotopaxi's crater, while the lower drawing renders the distant profile of Cayambe across the landscape. These field studies document Church's 1857 expedition through South America, where the Hudson River School painter gathered reference material for large-scale studio compositions. Such on-site sketches served as the foundation for his monumental landscape paintings, translating geographical observation into romantic, atmospheric works that brought remote terrain to American audiences.