The Hudson River School is an American art movement formed by a group of landscape painters during the mid-19th Century. The term "school" does not indicate the existence of any educational institution; instead it defines the artists' group and their common interests, beliefs, tastes, techniques and subject matter. Their primary influence is Romanticism, evocative in their respect for a wilder, purer nature. The themes explored by the members of this school describe 19th Century America in three parts: discovery, exploration and settlement. The Hudson River School paintings are romanticized in that they portray the American landscape as an ideal pastoral setting, with nature and man living in harmonious coexistence.