The Architect's Dream

The Architect's Dream is an 1840 oil painting created by Thomas Cole for New York architect Ithiel Town. Cole incorporated pieces of architecture from Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Gothic styles in various different parts of the painting, having dabbled in architecture previously. Cole finished the painting in only five weeks and showed it in the National Academy of Design annual exhibition that year. However, Town was not pleased by the "almost exclusively architectural subject" of the painting and refused to accept it. After a lengthy exchange of letters, Cole agreed to paint a more conventional landscape for Town and to take back The Architect's Dream, which remained in his possession until his death.