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FRAMING INFORMATION
1st Art Gallery offers the option to receive your painting ready to hang or rolled in a tube.
Currently, for safety, we're able to ship framed paintings only up to a certain size. Once the maximum size is reached, the framing option is automatically disabled.
However, if you are interested in stretching or framing a painting larger than 24x36 inches (60x90 cm), please contact one of our customer success associates or let us know in your order notes. We will send you a catalog of our large framing styles and pricing options.
Unframed rolled canvas orders will arrive rolled inside a protective tube with an extra 1.5" white canvas on all sides so you can easily frame it locally.


During the nineteenth century, it was oft thought that landscape painting was a lesser style of art when compared to those pictures of historical, mythological, literary or religious themes. Among the many artists that labored to subvert that idea were great names like J. W. M. Turner and, to an extent inspired by him, the painters of the style later called the Hudson River School. Among the latter, few would reach the relevance and fame of the English-American Thomas Cole, who was seen by his contemporaries to have elevated the landscape painting genre, less due to his technique, even though it was arguably unique in its sophistication, and more due to the artist going to great lengths to blend exquisitely detailed landscapes with moral messages, historical considerations and all sorts of narrative devices.
It could be said that the apex of Cole’s fame was reached with his series The Course of Empire, finished early in 1836. Possibly due to the success of that series, when the wealthy landowner William Paterson Van Rensselaer decided to commission a pair of landscape paintings with the only specification that they were to depict morning and evening, he ended up going to Cole, who was still riding the wave of success achieved by his aforementioned series of five paintings with both the critics and the public.
To fulfill his patron’s wished, Cole produced two exquisite depictions of a loosely European setting. The first one he named The Departure, as it depicts a feudal lord and his entourage of knights leaving their home, a castle of Norman inspiration, early in the morning to go on a heroic crusade of some description, a scene that could have figures in any Arthurian tale of chivalry. In this second scene, set late in the afternoon, the company of knights is seen returning to a church of Gothic inspiration, now significantly reduced in numbers, carrying their wounded lord on a stretcher, his horse demurely following its master.
Now in possession of the National Gallery of Art, in Washington DC, this fantastic painting showcases not only Cole’s technical brilliance but also his penchant for the narrative side of his art, establishing with just two images complex storytelling. It is not surprising, then, that many authors will refer to Thomas Cole as a poet-painter.
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Real Oil Paints, Real Brushes, Real Artists, Real Art. The Certificate of Authenticity which arrives with every painting provides an assurance and verifies the authenticity of the hand painted fine art reproduction you purchased. Each oil painting is created by hand using only the finest canvas and oil paints available.
Important Notes About Your Painting:
If you have any request to alter your reproduction of The Return, you must email us after placing your order and we'll have an artist contact you. If you have another image of The Return that you would like the artist to work from, please include it as an attachment. Otherwise, we will reproduce the above image for you exactly as it is.
- Ordered without a frame, it will be delivered in protective tube within 21-28 business days.
- When ordering the painting framed - allow additional 5-7 days for delivery. The painting will arrive ready to hang.
- Every painting is painted by an experienced artist.
- No printing or digital imaging techniques are used.
- 100% hand painted oil painting on artist grade canvas.
- Painting comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
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- Hand crafted means unique to every owner. Each canvas reproduction may vary slightly in brush details due to the nature of being hand painted, so no two paintings are the same.
- For those customers who appreciate quality and want to own an artist's work as it was meant to be enjoyed we are here for you.

Free shipping is included in the price of the painting. Once the painting is ready and dry enough to ship, we will roll it and ship it in a sturdy cardboard tube.
We always ship express via courier to ensure your order reaches you as soon as possible - normally within three business days. The total delivery time from the moment you place your order until the package is delivered to your door is normally between three to four weeks.

If, in the unlikely event you were dissatisfied with the painting after reviewing it in person, it can be returned for a full refund for up to 365 days after delivery.
When you receive the painting; you are free to return it for more revisions or else for a full refund minus our actual shipping cost -- which is, on average, $35 per painting.

1st Art Gallery provides a full warranty covering manufacturing and material defects for paintings purchased from our website. The warranty covers damage for normal use. Damage caused by incidents such as accidents or inappropriate use are not covered.
Depending on the degree of damage to the warranted painting, it will either be repaired or replaced. This warranty service is provided free of charge.
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