The Saving of Olana | An American Treasure

Olana, located high on a hill overlooking the majestic Catskill Mountains and scenic Hudson River, is the great masterpiece of American landscape painter, Frederic Edwin Church. Church was born in 1826 and went on to become the most successful representative of America’s first art movement, the Hudson River School. Church designed the picturesque landscape, network of carriage roads, farm complex and Persian inspired villa that comprise the 250 acre estate of Olana. Church traveled the globe painting the natural environment and amassing an extensive collection of paintings and decorative art from around the world. This short film recounts the dramatic rescue of a national treasure that nearly escaped disbursement in the mid-1960s with a look to its future. Watch this segment Wednesday, April 7, 2016 at 7:30pm on WMHT's AHA! A House for Arts. Learn more at wmht.org/olana