Olana, the magnificent home of landscape painter Frederic Church, sits atop a lofty hill near Hudson, N.Y. On a recent visit there, I encountered a sign describing efforts to preserve Olana's "viewshed."

Ah, I thought, a small shelter where aesthetes can contemplate the sublime vistas that inspired Church.

Well, not quite. Here "viewshed" refers, not to a shed, but to the entire landscape visible from Olana. Local authorities and owners of surrounding propert ...

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