Includes bibliographical references (p. 204-215) and index
Introduction -- River views and rural retreats : New York, city on a river ; Up the river, New York harbor to the Erie Canal ; The Hudson on paper -- America's favorite river, on canvas -- The American grand tour : the Catskills ; Lake George and the Adirondack Mountains ; The White Mountains and New England ; Niagara Falls -- American artists afield : Artist explorers of the West ; The Arctic ; South America -- The Old World, Europe, and the course of empire : Dream of Arcadia, Americans in Italy ; Thomas Cole's The course of empire -- Epilogue : a brief history of the museum collection
