The Course of Empire is a series of five paintings created by the English-born American painter Thomas Cole between 1833 and 1836, which depicts the growth and fall of an imaginary city. The Course of Empire comprises the following works: The Course of Empire – The Savage State (1); The Arcadian or Pastoral State (2); The Consummation of Empire (3); Destruction (4); and Desolation (5).
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