Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 - February 11, 1848) was a nineteenth century American artist. He was born at Bolton, Lancashire and emigrated to the United States at the age of eighteen. The most prominent painter of landscapes in America in his day, he is best known for starting the Hudson River School and for having Frederick Edwin Church as a pupil. His famous works include the four-part series "The Course of Empire," commissioned by collector Luman Reed, and "The Voyage of Life", exhibited in New York.