In the mid-19th century, Frederic Church emerged as the leading painter of the American landscape, and his skill at artistic composition clearly influenced the development of Olana and its spectacular views. Between 1860 and 1900, he created a living landscape that is one of the finest surviving American planned landscapes in the Picturesque Style. Olana encompasses the lake, the park, the house and its immediate grounds, the farm, the extensive road system, and majestic views of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River. Using the natural beauty of the site and the views beyond, Church created dramatic works of art in nature around every corner and bend in the road. A plan of Olana drawn in 1886 by the Churches' eldest son, Joseph Fredrick Church, shows the property as the artist's landscape work of art was nearing completion and illustrates the extensive system of drives and farm roads that provided access to all areas of the property.