Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900) traveled the world, captured its beauty in countless paintings, and brought it home to live at Olana, his castle on the Hudson. The name Olana was inspired by a reference Church found to a fortress or a treasury-storhouse in ancient Persia: this extraordinary selection of Church's paintings from his collection at Olana puts the most cherished of his treasures on full display in a volume that includes 77 color plates.<BR>Church's paintings, among the most acclaimed examples of art of the Hudson River School, are found in museums and private collections around the globe. However, Church kept some of his art close by during his lifetime. The rich collection that remains at Olana includes about seven hundred pieces, including notebooks, drawings, and oils, both sketches and completed canvases. They cover the full range of Church's career chronologically and thematically. The highlights from his personal collection are found in the touring exhibition that accompanies this book.