Explore Thomas Cole

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• 1. Elevation of State House, Columbus, Ohio
• 2. Front Elevation Drawing for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Catskill, New York
• 3. Two Front Elevations

Thomas Cole, Elevation of State House, Columbus, Ohio, graphite pencil on beige wove paper, 1838, 10 ¾ x 14 ¾ in. Detroit Institute of Arts; Founders Society Purchase, William H. Murphy Fund, 39.505. View in Virtual Gallery

One of Cole's first forays into architecture was to design the new State House in Columbus, Ohio, with his nephew, architect William Henry Bayless. Conceived by Cole and drawn by Bayless, the design was submitted to a competition and—after complicated deliberations—was ultimately adopted with modifications for the building, beating out the firm of Cole's patron, Ithiel Town. In the elevation drawing, Cole again drew from classical sources, using a Greek Doric colonnade in the front, topped by a pediment and a Roman dome. Cole's biographer Louis Legrand Noble—in his typically reverential manner—called the building "one of the most perfect edifices for just proportion and harmony of parts, on the continent." ¹  The finished design was significantly altered: a low conical roof replaced the dome, while less expensive recessed entrances were built instead of the porticoes. The building still stands today. ²