Olana is the castle-like structure and surrounding grounds created by Frederic Edwin Church, a major figure of the Hudson River School of American artists, five miles south of Hudson, New York.
The interior remains much as it was during Church's lifetime, exotically furnished and decorated with objects from his extensive travels, and by paintings by Church and his friends. The house is intricately stencilled inside and out; Church designed the stencils based on his travels in the Middle East. The house contains Church’s last studios, built as an addition in 1888-1890. Working over a 40-year period, Church designed the entire 250-acre estate to complement the picturesque landscape with its views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains.
Olana is one of the few intact artists’ home, studio and estate complexes in the United States; it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.
Columbia County, New York | History of New York | Houses in New York