The view of The Park and the Olana House from the middle of the frozen lake, January 2025W.E.R. LaFarge and the author, 1987. Photo: Louisa LaFargeFrederic E. Church, designs for the Podium of Cleopatra’s Needle, New York, c. 1879-1880. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Olana State Historic Site. OL.1982.978(R)]Cleopatra’s Needle, Central Park, November 2024. Frederic Church helped design the base of the sculpture and consulted on the placement of the obelisk. Frederic Church was greatly influenced by Alexander Von Humboldt’s 2-volume “Cosmos,” as was Thomas Cole. This is a photo of Cole’s bookshelf at Cedar Grove.Frederic Edwin Church, Courtesy Century Association ArchivesThomas Cole, ca. 1845, in a portrait by Mathew Brady. Published within the Archives of American Art Journal at the Smithsonian Institution
![Frederic E. Church, designs for the Podium of Cleopatra’s Needle, New York, c. 1879-1880. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Olana State Historic Site. OL.1982.978(R)]](https://olanabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Church_Cleopatras-Needle_OL1982-978_Recto-1024x802.jpg)
