Walking through the wooded areas of Central Park it is easy to succumb to the interplay of light and shadow, and find yourself pleasantly intertwined with the composition of the landscape in a remotely mystical way.
The wilderness aspect of the park is no accident. Initially designed and built by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux in the mid to late 1800’s it reflects much of the spirit of the Transendentalist theories of the time. These included the writings of Thoreau and Emerson, as well as the painters of the Hudson River School, all of whom saw the uniqueness of the Eastern Wilderness of the Uniited States as defining the spirit of the national character, and as a source of inspiration for the creative soul.