The Thomas Cole National Historic Site Presents New Exhibition “Thomas Cole’s Studio: Memory and Inspiration” Curated by Franklin Kelly, Senior Curator of the National Gallery of Art Thomas Cole was already the most famous landscape painter in America when he died unexpectedly at the age of 47 in February 1848. His legacy continues to influence American art to this day, and a new exhibition “Thomas Cole’s Studio: Memory and Inspiration” explores the creative directions of the painter’s last .