Search
Skip to main content
Voyage of Life: Youth

Voyage of Life: Youth

Artist/Maker (American, born in Scotland, 1807–1885)
after (American, born in England, 1801–1848)
Dateca. 1853
MediumEngraving
DimensionsImage: 15 × 22 1/4 in. (38.1 × 56.5 cm)
Sheet: 15 1/2 × 22 1/4 in. (39.4 × 56.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Genevieve Brandt (OC 1904)
Object number1900.114
Status
Not on view
More Information
Cole's Voyage of Life (1839-40) depicts life's phases in a cycle of four paintings: Childhood, Youth, Manhood, and Old Age. The series sketches an allegorical pilgrimage through the landscape as symbolic of an individual's progress to Christian salvation. The apparition of a fabulous cloud castle in Youth epitomizes the hopes, aspirations, and possibilities characteristic of the age. Smillie's engraved reproductions of the Voyage of Life were popular in homes throughout North America, and helped spread a romantic, allegorical reading of the native landscape.
Exhibition History
Landscape in the 19th Century: Observation and Interpretation
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 20, 1990 - April 29, 1990 )
Changing Visions of the North American Landscape
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (October 24, 2000 - January 28, 2001 )
Collections
  • Americas
The AMAM continually researches its collection and updates its records with new findings.
We welcome additional information and suggestions for improvement. Please email us at AMAMcurator@oberlin.edu.