Rep. Delgado Highlights $50,000 for Thomas Cole National Historic Site Through American Rescue Plan Funding

Statement

Today, U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19) announced that the Thomas Cole National Historic Site is receiving $50,000 in funding for from the Telling the Truth Full History Preservation Fund. The grant was made possible through a one-time $2.5 million grant program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021.

"For more than 20 years, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site has been an educational and artistic resource for folks in Catskill and visitors from all over," said Rep. Delgado. "I am glad to see this funding delivered through the American Rescue Plan, which included my unique funding formula to help deliver direct support to our rural towns and villages. I will keep working to support the local arts and help ensure organizations like the Thomas Cole House have the resources needed to continue its work."

"We are so excited to have this funding so that we can implement the ideas we've been talking about internally, researching, and exploring with our team of advisors for years. There is so much work to do! Historic sites serve the living, and therefore must evolve in order to address the most important needs of our time," said Executive Director of Thomas Cole National Historic Site Betsy Jacks. "With this important support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site will create new installations in the historic home that shine a light on the important histories of two 19th-century women of very different backgrounds who lived here and have fascinating stories to tell. This is just one step in the all-encompassing initiative that we call "Full House," which calls for rethinking and rebuilding our whole organization, addressing both the forward-facing elements and the internal operations. It took a whole, diverse community to create American visual culture, and historic sites can lead the way in showing that diversity in action, operating and interacting through time."

In 2021, Rep. Delgado nominated the site for the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, for which it was one of 15 finalists. This new grant will allow the Thomas Cole National Historic Site to research, plan and implement new interpretive installations that bring forward two women, Maria Bartow who married Thomas Cole, and an unnamed free Black woman in the household. These women made possible the first major art movement of the United States, now known as the Hudson River School, founded by Thomas Cole (1801-1848). Women owned and operated the property that now bears the artist's name, critiqued his art, and advised him on business.

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