Washington Irving and the Hudson River School of art
Washington Irving (1783-1859) is best known for writing the American folk tale classics, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. He also wrote many other short stories, essays and even a few biographies. In addition to these accomplishments, he was indirectly an influence on visual artists, such as those who founded the famous hudson river school of American landscape painting. Irving was a writer who expressed the spirit of romanticism in his portrayal of many of the same locations that ended up being painted by Hudson River School artists such as Thomas Cole. Both Irving and many of these painters were especially inspired by locations in the upstate New York region of the Catskills. A bridge in that region, connecting the towns of Catskill and Hudson is named The Rip Van Winkle Bridge.