The Historic Hudson River School: American Excellence

The Historic Hudson River School

AMERICAN EXCELLENCE

Q U E S T R O Y A L F I N E A RT, L L C

March 10–April 9, 2022 An Exhibition and Sale

The Historic Hudson River School

AMERICAN EXCELLENCE Louis M. Salerno, Owner Brent L. Salerno, Co-Owner Chloe Heins, Director Nina Sangimino, Assistant Director Pavla Berghen-Wolf, Research Associate Kayla Seifert, Administrator Leah Hicks, Administrative Assistant Jesse McCloskey, Art Handler Rita J. Walker, Controller

Q U E S T R O Y A L F I N E A RT, L L C Important American Paintings 903 Park Avenue (at 79th Street), Third Floor, New York, NY 10075 T: (212) 744-3586 F: (212) 585-3828 H O U R S : Monday–Friday

10–6, Saturday 10–5 and by appointment

E M A I L : gallery @ questroyalfineart.com Albert Bierstadt Mount Baker, Washington, ca. 1891, detail

www.questroyalfineart.com

Why the Hudson River School?

The Hudson River School movement was a uniquely American

nature or risk becoming a society that trades sunlight for

innovation that was virtually without correlation to any prior

the glow of screens. We can be thankful that these paintings

artistic endeavor. Unbound by a European convention that

have encouraged a renewed appreciation for conservation by

emphasized humanity over nature, these maverick painters

providing a visualization of what is truly at risk if we do not

ventured into the vast territories of the new world to explore

cherish and protect the natural beauty that surrounds us.

and bring to canvas wonders that were beyond the conception or design of mankind. They devised ways to engage their creativity without tainting the natural beauty they discovered and painted.

Nations across the globe have featured works of the Hudson River School in a multitude of exhibitions in recognition of their innovation and universal importance. As a relatively young country, we have not yet come to fully appreciate and

By the mid-nineteenth century, divided by principle and ideol-

value our most enduring paintings. With just a finite number

ogy, a great Civil War ravaged a young America. At the moment

of these works available for acquisition combined with the

when our nation faced its greatest threat, this innovative art

inevitability of inflation and burgeoning interest, we should

rose to fruition. With an escalating urgency, our artists refined

act with haste to seize the present opportunity.

their talents and imparted a passion for the homeland that has endured as a testament to the sanctity of our nation’s profound beauty. Today, a people alienated by opposing political views may find a healing commonality in a land forever preserved on the canvases of the Hudson River School.

Two hundred years since their creation, these paintings are a vital counterpoint to a surging technology that is eroding our relationship with nature. They inspire viewers to embrace Sanford Robinson Gifford A Souvenir of the Catskills, 1867, detail

This special catalogue features only the very finest examples by the most revered painters of the Hudson River School. Each work is worthy of inclusion in any museum and is distinguished by exceptional artistic achievement and impeccable provenance and condition. l o u i s m . s a l e r n o, Owner

Estes Park Morning, Colorado Oil on canvas

Albert Bierstadt

131/4 x 91/4 inches

(1830–1902 )

$135,000

Monogrammed lower right: AB

Albert Bierstadt’s career followed an epic

prove na nce

r e l ate d wo rk s

course. As one of the first artists to explore the

Newhouse Galleries, New York, New York

Western frontier, he achieved a level of fame

Amy C. Liss, Summit, New Jersey

and prosperity previously unknown in the

Sale, Freeman’s, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 5, 2021, lot 7, from above

Cloud Effect, Estes Park, Colorado, ca. 1863–75, oil on paper mounted on canvas, 13 7/8 x 19 3/4 inches; The Haggin Museum, Stockton, California

in Massachusetts, and trained in Düsseldorf,

e xhibite d

Estes Park, Longs Peak, 1877, oil on canvas, 62 x 98 inches; Denver Art Museum, Colorado, on permanent loan from the Denver Public Library

Bierstadt created landscapes that combined

Newark Museum, New Jersey, The Rockies and the Alps: Bierstadt, Calame, and the Romance of the Mountains, March 24–August 19, 2018

Untitled (Estes Park, Colorado, Bierstadt Lake), ca. 1877, oil on canvas, 30 x 43 3/4 inches; Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming

lite r atur e

note : Bierstadt first encountered the Rocky Mountains in 1859 while on an expedition with Frederick W. Lander’s survey, a trip which inspired his great fascination with the American West (he would travel West several more times) and revealed the magnificent landscapes found there; these vistas are among Bierstadt’s most accomplished paintings.

world of American art. Born in Prussia, raised

German precision with American Romanticism.

His fantastic visions of soaring mountain peaks reflected the height of his ambitions, astounding viewers with the country’s unspoiled grandeur. Recognized outside the United States, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor by Napoleon III , the Imperial Order of St. Stanislaus by Alexander II of Russia, and the Imperial Order of Medjid by the Sultan of Turkey.

Katherine Manthorne and Tricia Laughlin Bloom, The Rockies and the Alps: Bierstadt, Calame, and the Romance of the Mountains (Newark, NJ: Newark Museum, 2018), 14–16, 149, cat. 1 (as Landscape Study: Estes Park, Colorado Morning).

Tricia Laughlin Bloom and Katherine Manthorne, “The Rockies & the Alps: Bierstadt, Calame, and the Romance of the Mountains,” American Art Review 30, no. 2 (March/April 2018): 61 (as Landscape Study: Estes Park, Colorado Morning).

Donald Kuspit, “Magic Mountains,” WhiteHot Magazine (April 2018), n. p. (as Landscape Study: Estes Park, Colorado, Morning).

Tricia Laughlin Bloom, “New Gallery Features Major Landscape Exhibition – The Rockies & the Alps: Bierstadt, Calame, and the Romance of the Mountains,” DANA : A Magazine for Members of Newark Museum (Spring 2018): 2–3 (as Landscape Study: Estes Park, Colorado Morning).

Mount Baker, Washington, ca. 1891 Oil on canvas

Albert Bierstadt

14 x 201/8 inches

(1830–1902 )

$495,000

Monogrammed lower right: ABierstadt

prove na nce J. Harrison Mills, New York, New York Private collection, Boston, Massachusetts and Texas, ca. 1910–20 Mrs. Jennifer Harris, California, by descent from above Private collection, Dallas, Texas Sale, Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, Reno, Nevada, July 23, 2011, lot 163, from above Private collection, Fort Worth, Texas, acquired from above Sale, Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, Hayden, Idaho, July 31, 2021, lot 272, from above e xhibite d Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, The American Masters, October 7–December 30, 2021 lite r atur e Larry Len Peterson, The American West Reimagined: Gems from the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction (Hayden: ID, Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, 2021), 19, 22.

Important American Paintings, Volume XXII: The American Masters (New York: Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, 2021), n.p. r e l ate d wo r ks Mt. Baker, Washington, From the Frazier River, 1890, oil on paper laid down on canvas, 141/4 x 195/8 inches, monogrammed lower left: ABierstadt; Brooklyn Museum, New York Sketch of Landscape Near Mount Baker (from Sketchbook), 1890, graphite on paper, 43/4 x 7 3/4 inches; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York

note : Mount Baker is a glacier-covered active volcano located in the Cascades of Washington. In August 1890, Sir George Stephens, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, commissioned Bierstadt to paint a large scene of Mount Baker. Stephens’s railway manager, William Cornelius Van Horne, sent detailed instructions to Bierstadt describing the beauty of the location: Cloudy days are not infrequent there and you might lose a few days getting a good view of it, but under favorable conditions the view is so magnificent that I am sure it would be well worth your while. I think it the finest natural composition I have ever seen. The point indicated is the nearest one on our line from which a good view of Mount Baker can be had. The Fraser River, very broad here, stretches away towards it, the centre cone of Mount Baker rises apparently directly from the river and is frequently reflected in it with great distinctness.1 1. Coeur d’Alene auction catalogue, July 31, 2021, p. 216, lot 272.

Icebergs, Labrador

William Bradford (1823–1892 )

Oil on board 9 x 14 inches

$225,000

Known as “The Painter of the Polar World,”

prove na nce

Bradford was born in the whaling town

Charles Childs, Boston, Massachusetts, 1943

of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and traveled

Julien Levy, New York, New York, from above

throughout the Arctic in search of its sprawling

Sale, Tajan, Paris, France, October 6, 2004, lot 150, from above

glaciers and sublime icebergs. His work combined profound technical knowledge with the Romantic lure of seafaring adventure. As his fame grew, people paid to accompany him on his voyages to Newfoundland, Greenland, and the coast of Labrador. Bradford exhibited

Jan Krugier, acquired from above Estate of above Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, New York, November 20, 2014, lot 3, from above Private collection, Bethesda, Maryland, acquired from above

at venues including the National Academy of

e xhibite d

Design, Boston Athenæum, and Royal Academy

Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York

in London. His paintings are now in the

Julien Levy Gallery, New York, New York, The Picturesque Tradition in American Painting of the Nineteenth Century, 1943, no. 1

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museo ThyssenBornemisza in Madrid, and Museum of Fine

r e l ate d wo r ks

Arts, Boston.

Fisherman’s Station Near St. Michael, Sunset (Coast of Labrador), 1864, oil on canvas, 18 x 30 inches; Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, Virginia Coast of Labrador, 1868, oil on canvas, 251/2 x 44 inches; Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut A Harbor on the Coast of Labrador, ca. 1875, oil on canvas, 18 1/8 x 30 3/8 inches; The Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire

note : In 1861, Bradford made his first trip to Labrador, off the eastern coast of Canada, after which he became well known for his paintings of the Arctic.1 Henry Tuckerman, esteemed early biographer of American artists, wrote in 1867 that “adventure is an element in American artist-life which gives it singular zest,” such as “Bradford’s chase after icebergs off the coast of Labrador…its record abounds with pioneer enterprise and hardy exploration.”2 Bradford would make five more expeditions to Labrador in the following years, as well as other Arctic trips, including to Greenland.

The first owner of this work is probably Charles Childs (1906–1993), the Boston art collector and dealer who founded the Childs Gallery in 1937, which brought New England artists to market.

Julien Levy (1906–1981) was a New York art dealer and gallery owner in the 1930s and 1940s known for promoting the work of modernist and surrealist artists like Marcel Duchamp, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Max Ernst, and Joseph Cornell, among others.

He owned Salvador Dali’s most famous painting The Persistence of Memory, before it was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. 1. Kynaston McShine, ed. The Natural Paradise, Painting in America 1800–1950 (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1976), 142.

2. Ibid., 81.

Autumn Landscape with Cattle, 1879

Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823–1900 )

Oil on canvas 231/8 x 401/4 inches

Signed and dated lower right: J. F. Cropsey / 1879 $325,000

Jasper Francis Cropsey, one of the leading

prove na nce

r e l ate d wo rk

artists of the Hudson River School, brought out

The artist

Autumn on the Susquehanna, 1878, oil on canvas, 231/8 x 401/8 inches, signed and dated lower right: J. F. Cropsey / 1878 ; Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut

the color and breadth of the American landscape

Private collection, Massachusetts

in his work. Cropsey first learned the art of

Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts, by 1974–76 (as Fiery Autumn Landscape)

landscape painting as an architectural apprentice, acquiring the draftsmanship demonstrated in his best works. He was soon hailed as “America’s painter of autumn.” Cropsey was one of the youngest members ever elected to the National

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, museum purchase Sale, Brunk Auctions, Asheville, North Carolina, September 11, 2021, lot 974, from above to benefit future acquisitions

Academy of Design and a founding member

e xhibite d

of the American Watercolor Society. He won a

American Embassy in Berne, Switzerland, through the Art in Embassies Program, Department of State, for Ambassador and Mrs. Donald Beyer, May 24, 2010–June 17, 2013

medal from the London International Exposition of 1862, and was presented to Queen Victoria at St. James’s Palace in 1861.

lite r atur e S. Morton Vose II, “The Painted Landscape” in Wayne Hanley, ed., The American Years: Produced for Man & Nature, The Yearbook of the Massachusetts Audubon Society (Lincoln, MA: The Nimrod Press, 1976), n. p. (as Fiery Autumn Landscape).

Amy Ellis, “Autumn on the Susquehanna,” in Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser, American Paintings Before 1945 in the Wadsworth Atheneum, vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996), 281.

Anthony M. Speiser, ed., Jasper Francis Cropsey: Catalogue Raisonné, Works in Oil, vol. 2, 1864–1884 (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY: Newington-Cropsey Foundation, 2016), 255, 264–265, 272, 274, no. 1564.

note : This painting may depict the Susquehanna River. Anthony Speiser posits that the present work could be the same picture as On the Susquehanna (NCF-1856) or Susquehanna River (NCF-1927).

A Souvenir of the Catskills, 1867

Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823–1880 )

Oil on board 715/16 x 9 3/8 inches

Initialed and dated lower left: S R G ‘67 ; on verso: For Miss Buck / A. Souvenir of the Catskills – $97,500

Sanford Robinson Gifford was a second-generation

prove na nce

painter of the Hudson River School, known for

The artist

his skillful ability to render light and atmospheric effects. He possessed an acute understanding of the spiritual and emotional inspiration to be drawn from a landscape, depicting brilliant vistas marked by an aerial luminism that transformed quotidian scenes into poetic masterpieces. Over the course of his career he traveled extensively

Miss Buck, gift from above Vivian Shand, by 1978 Sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, New York, April 28, 1978, lot 579, from above (as Souvenir of the Catskills (Kauterskill Clove)) Alexander Gallery, New York, New York, acquired from above Private collection, acquired from above

throughout the Catskills, Adirondacks, and

Private collection, New York, New York, by descent from above, ca. 1995–2003

White Mountains, though arguably his favorite

Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York

subject was the Hudson River Valley, where he was

Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, New York, New York, acquired from above, 2005

born. Upon his death in 1880, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held a special commemorative retrospective to celebrate Gifford’s life and work.

Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, acquired from above, 2005 Private collection, Riverside, Connecticut, acquired from above, 2006 Sale, Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, November 5, 2021, lot 67075, from above r e l ate d wo r ks A Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove), 1862, oil on canvas, 48 x 397/8 inches, signed and dated lower left: SR Gifford /1862 ; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York A Sketch in Kauterskill Clove, ca. 1861, oil on canvas, 13 x 11 inches, signed and dated lower left: SR Gifford 1861; Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts Kauterskill Clove, Catskill Mountains, 1880, oil on canvas, 131/4 x 10 5/8 inches; The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois note : According to scholar Ila Weiss: This is an imagined view of one of Gifford’s favorite subjects, a stretched panorama of the northern Catskills ravine that climbs about 1500 feet from Palenville to Haine’s Falls, a distance of about

5 miles…[with] Haines falls at the head of the Clove, as seen from the ledge of Sunset Rock on South Mountain, its north flank, with Kaaterskill Falls further west on that flank, invisible from Sunset Rock.1

Gifford painted at Kaaterskill Clove almost every year, often in the autumn, which was accessible from his home in Hudson, New York. His practice inspired other artists to paint the site and tourists to visit it. Around the mid-nineteenth century, Gifford extended an invitation to other artist’s wives and sisters to join the men working there, which prompted so many vacationers that the artists went from staying at Scribner’s Mill House on Lake Creek to Laurel House near the brink of Kaaterskill Falls.2 Certain compositional elements of the present work make it an homage to Laurel House and the artists painting from there. Unlike his other depictions of this view which show Haines Falls in the distance but never Kaaterskill Falls, this work includes water gushing from the falls, along with the white structure of Laurel House above the mountainside. Instead of depicting the foreground rocks and trees with tonal contrast to underscore the luminous distance as in other paintings, in this painting those rocks fade into the darkened hillside at left and instead contrast with the brighter falls and Laurel House in the middle-ground.3 A pencil drawing of an umbrella is visible on the reverse, alongside the inscription to Miss Buck, who Ila Weiss believes to have been a member of the artist’s entourage, perhaps an artist too. To Weiss, the umbrella—an item often present while painting en plein air—is its own souvenir from the Catskills, and could symbolize Gifford himself, or Miss Buck, who, as the recipient of such a generous gift, may have been a “more than casual acquaintance.” 4 1.

2.

3.

4.

Ila Weiss letter, September 2021.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Sunset Over the Shawangunks

Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823–1880 )

Oil on canvas 81/2 x 147/8 inches

Estate stamp on verso $675,000

prove na nce (Possibly) F. S. Sarm, by 1881 Private collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Private collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by descent from above Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, acquired from above, 2013 Private collection, New York, New York, acquired from above, 2013 Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, acquired from above, 2014 Private collection, Bethesda, Maryland, acquired from above, 2015 lite r atur e (Possibly) Catalogue of Valuable Oil Paintings, Works of the Famous Artist, Sanford R. Gifford, N. A. Deceased (New York: Thos E. Kirby and Co., 1881), 17, no. 69 (as Traps, Shawangunk Mountains). r e l ate d wo r ks From the Shawangunk Mountains, oil on canvas on panel, 31/8 x 53/8 inches; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC Indians at Campfire–Moon Rising, oil on paper laid down on canvas, 43/4 x 101/8 inches; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC Sunset in the Shawangunk Mountains, 1854, oil on canvas; The Warner Collection, Tuscaloosa, Alabama Shawangunk Mountains, 1861(?), graphite on paper, 5 9/16 x 9 inches, inscribed lower left: Shawangunk Mts; Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts The Shawangunk Mountains, 1864, oil on canvas, 9 x 16 inches, signed and dated lower left: S R Gifford 1864 ; Collection of Cheryl and Blair Effron, New York, New York

View of the Trapps, Shawangunk Mountains, 1864, graphite on paper, 31/8 x 415/16 inches; Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts Sketchbook: Shawangunk Mountains, N.Y.: Mt. Katadin and Lake Millinocket, Me., 1873­­–79, graphite on paper, 41/2 x 81/2 inches; The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York note : Gifford visited the Shawangunk Mountains as early as 1850.1 Known for their rugged, dramatic beauty, the Shawangunk Mountains attracted tourists from New York City, some of whom were excited to visit the tavern at Lake Mohonk that opened in 1859. For both artists and travelers, the scenery was magnificent, with its “enormous masses of granite” and thickets of “laurel and evergreen trees,” as well as incredible views of the rivers and valleys surrounding it. Among several oil versions the artist explored, a larger work of the site was included on Gifford’s list of “chief pictures” and exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1865.2 1. Kevin J. Avery, Sanford R. Gifford: In the Catskills (Catskill, NY: Thomas Cole National Historic Site, 2017), 27.

2. Kevin J. Avery and Franklin Kelly, eds., Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003), 164.

The Catskill Mountain House

Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823–1880 )

Oil on canvas 61/8 x 111/8 inches

Estate stamp on verso $650,000

prove na nce Estate of the artist (Probably) Richard Butler, acquired from above, 1881 Private collection, Washington, DC, by 1987 Adams-Davidson Galleries, Washington, DC Private collection, Bethesda, Maryland, acquired from above, 1989 lite r atur e (Probably) Catalogue of Valuable Oil Paintings, Works of the Famous Artist, Sanford R. Gifford, N. A. Deceased (New York: Thos E. Kirby and Co., 1881), 32, no. 68 (as A View near the Catskill Mountain House).

(Probably) John F. Weir, A Memorial Catalogue of the Paintings of Sanford Robinson Gifford, N.A. (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1881), 34, no. 481 (as A View Near the Catskill Mountain House).

Ila Weiss, Poetic Landscape: The Art and Experience of Sanford R. Gifford (Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press, 1987), 232–33 (as A View Near the Catskill Mountain House).

Kevin J. Avery and Franklin Kelly, eds., Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003), 144. r e l ate d wo r ks The Catskill Mountain House, 1862, oil on canvas, 91/8 x 181/2 inches, signed and dated lower left: S R Gifford ’62 ; Private collection Sketchbook: New Hampshire, N.Y., 1865–66 (2 drawings), graphite on paper, 53/4 x 813/16 inches; The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York

note : In his memorial address, fellow painter Worthington Whittredge (1820–1910) spoke of Gifford’s connection to the Catskills: “As an artist he was born in the Catskill Mountains,...[his favorite part] was the summit, or the region round about the Mountain House. Upon the edges of the cliffs of North and South mountains, overlooking the great plain and the Hudson River, how often his feet have stood! The very lichens there remember him.”

The popularity of the Mountain House was expanded greatly by stagecoach line owner Charles L. Beach, who assumed control of the Mountain House in 1839, and full ownership in 1846. At that time, he began renovations on the hotel and created more hiking trails on the surrounding North and South Mountain terrain (which he also owned), which attracted visitors and artists. Beach also published a guidebook to the Mountain House and the area around it, with excerpts from poet William Cullen Bryant and from several travel writers of the era.

Unsurprisingly, the locale became a popular, and awe-inspiring destination. The tourist culture also helped to generate patrons for the Hudson River School artists. Gifford was among the first to paint the views from these new paths. His sketchbooks from 1861–62 and 1865–66 contain studies of the Mountain House.

1. Nicolai Cikovsky Jr., Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823– 1800) (Austin: University of Texas, 1970), 25.

2. Kevin J. Avery and Franklin Kelly, eds., Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003), 31.

3. Kevin J. Avery, Sanford R. Gifford: In the Catskills (Catskill, NY: Thomas Cole National Historic Site, 2017), 19.

4. Avery and Kelly, Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford, 35–36.

Palisades on the Hudson, ca. 1866 or 1876

George Inness (1825–1894 )

Oil on canvas 297/8 x 447/8 inches

Signed lower right: G. Inness $285,000

George Inness was an artistic innovator, credited

prove na nce

with changing the course of American art. Born

[With] Milch Gallery, New York, New York, by 1965

in Newburgh, New York, he studied with Régis

[With] Joseph A. Safron, St. Louis, Missouri, ca. 1974–78

Gignoux and began exhibiting at the National

Private collection, 1978

Academy of Design at age 19. Beginning his

[With] Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas (as The Palisades)

career at the height of the Hudson River School, Inness moved away from the objective depiction of natural form to concentrate on an intensely subjective vision. His visionary landscapes drew from the atmospheric style of the Barbizon School, the mystical philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg, and his own personal impulse to fuel a new language of pictorial expression. His work is currently featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the White House.

[With] Adelson Galleries, New York, New York (as The Palisades)

Jay E. Cantor, A Delicate Balance: American Art and the Allure of Europe (Houston: Meredith Long & Company, 2002), n.p., no. 5 (as The Palisades).

Michael Quick, George Inness: A Catalogue Raisonné, Volume 1: 1841–1879 (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2007), 508–9, no. 581.

Important American Paintings, Volume XXII : The American Masters (New York: Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, 2021), n.p.

[With] Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, New York (as The Palisades)

r e l ate d wo rk s

[With] Heinley Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, 2000

Palisades on the Hudson, ca. 1866 or 1876, oil on board, 91/4 x 14 inches, signed lower right: G. Inness; Collection of Jack Hollihan and Mary Ann Apicella

Private collection, acquired from above Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, New York, December 11, 2020, lot 24, from above e xhibite d Newhouse Galleries, New York, New York, The American Scene, 1820–1870: An Exhibition of the American Landscape by American Painters, 1944 Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas, A Delicate Balance: American Art and the Allure of Europe, November–December 2002, no. 5 (as The Palisades) Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, The American Masters, October 7–December 30, 2021 lite r atur e (Possibly) “Fine Arts,” The Evening Post (October 13, 1866): 1.

The American Scene, 1820–1870: An Exhibition of the American Landscape by American Painters (New York: Newhouse Galleries, 1944), 36.

LeRoy Ireland, The Works of George Inness: An Illustrated Catalogue Raisonné (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965), 280, no. 1130.

American Art Review 1, no. 5 (July–October 1974): 15.

Antiques 158, no. 5 (November 2000): 665.

Spring at Montclair (The Palisades, Montclair, NJ), ca. 1876–77, oil on canvas, 111/2 x 171/2 inches, signed lower left: G. Inness; Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts note : In reference to this painting, scholar Michael Quick comments that in 1866, Inness was reported to be working in his studio on a “striking picture of the Hudson River as seen from the Palisades.

The subject is a bold one, and is handled in the artist’s masterly manner.”1 According to the Boston Evening Transcript, Inness spent part of summer 1876 sketching “in the valley back of the Palisades” in New Jersey, and a Newark newspaper cited the artist’s participation in a December 1876 exhibition with another painting of the Hudson.2 These occurrences explain the two different possible dates for this work. The view probably looks from New Jersey toward Manhattan, toward the point where the Harlem River flows into the Hudson River.

The related work by the same title is a near exact study for the present work.

1. Michael Quick, George Inness: A Catalogue Raisonné, Volume 1: 1841–1879 (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2007), 508.

2. Ibid.

Campfire at Sunset, 1867 Oil on canvas

George Inness

181/8 x 30 1/16 inches

(1825–1894 )

$225,000

Signed and dated lower left: G. Inness 1867

prove na nce Mrs. Lincoln Ellsworth, until 1969 [With] Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, New York, 1969 [With] Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas Mr. and Mrs. James L. Britton III , Houston, Texas [With] Meredith Long & Company, Houston, Texas Private collection, New Orleans, Louisiana Private collection, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, by descent from above [With] Menconi & Schoelkopf, New York, New York e xhibite d Davis & Long Company, New York, New York, American-English Paintings, Watercolors, and Drawings, November 9–December 3, 1977, no. 11 David Findlay, Jr. Gallery, New York, New York, George Inness, 1825–1894, November 8–December 8, 1984 lite r atur e Michael Quick, George Inness: A Catalogue Raisonné, vol. I, 1841–1879 (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2007), 281, no. 298.

Passing Storm Clouds, 1869

David Johnson (1827–1908 )

Oil on canvas 113/4 x 18 7/8 inches

Monogrammed and dated lower right: DJ . 69. $95,000

David Johnson was a prominent member

prove na nce

of the Hudson River School’s second

Marianne Lehman, New Jersey, ca. 1960

generation. He studied briefly under

Private collection, by descent from above

Jasper Francis Cropsey and was closely

Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, New York, May 22, 2008, lot 21, from above

associated with a circle of artists that included Benjamin Champney, John William Casilear, Asher B. Durand, and John Frederick Kensett. He helped found the Artists’ Fund Society in 1859, and was elected an academician of the National Academy of Design in 1861.

Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, acquired from above Private collection, Millerton, New York, acquired from above, 2008

Beacon Rock, Newport, 1863

John Frederick Kensett (1816–1872 )

Oil on paper laid down on board 51/2 x 9 5/8 inches

Monogrammed and dated lower right: JF. K. 63 $450,000

One of the most important artists of the

prove na nce

Hudson River School, John Frederick Kensett

Private collection, (likely) Weston, Massachusetts

painted intimate landscapes that celebrated

Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts, acquired from above, (likely) 1976 (as Newport Harbor (Beacon Rock))

the American wilderness. Kensett studied in Europe alongside John William Casilear and Asher B. Durand. Initially known for his woodland interiors and panoramas, Kensett later turned his focus to seascapes, perfecting the serene, luminous qualities with which he is frequently associated. His delicately rendered, elegant compositions are praised for their harmonious appearances.

Private collection, Hartford, Connecticut, acquired from above, (likely) 1977 William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, Rhode Island, acquired from above, by 1990 Private collection, Bedford, New York, acquired from above William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, Rhode Island, acquired from above Private collection, Bethesda, Maryland, acquired from above, 2018

Historic New England: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit Historic New England–America’s Oldest and Most Comprehensive Regional Heritage Organization (Newport, RI: William Vareika Fine Arts, 2010). r e l ate d wo rk s Beacon Rock, Newport Harbor, 1857, oil on canvas, 221/2 x 36 inches, monogrammed and dated lower right: JFK 57; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Beacon Rock, Newport, 1863, oil on canvas, 18 x 30 inches, monogrammed and dated lower right: JF. K. 63; Art Bridges Foundation, Bentonville, Arkansas Marine View of Beacon Rock, Newport Harbor, 1864, oil on canvas, 281/2 x 45 3/4 inches; The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, Florida Newport, Rhode Island (Beacon Rock), 1872, oil on canvas, 12 x 201/2 inches; Dallas Museum of Art, Texas

e xhibite d William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, Rhode Island, The Artistic Heritage of Newport and the Narragansett Bay (An Exhibition to Benefit Save The Bay), July 13–November 30, 1990 William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, Rhode Island, A Precious Muse: Art of the Narragansett Bay Then and Now (An Exhibition to Benefit Save The Bay), July 21–September 9, 2007 William Vareika Fine Arts, Newport, Rhode Island, Historic New England: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit Historic New England–America’s Oldest and Most Comprehensive Regional Heritage Organization, July 12–November 14, 2010 lite r atur e The Artistic Heritage of Newport and the Narragansett Bay (Newport, RI: William Vareika Fine Arts, 1990), plate 1.

A Precious Muse: Art of the Narragansett Bay Then and Now (Newport, RI: William Vareika Fine Arts, 2007).

note : This composition shows a view from Brenton Cove, with Beacon Rock on the right and Fort Adams on the left.1 Kensett visited Newport, Rhode Island, numerous times, beginning in 1854. By the 1850s, Newport had become a popular vacation destination for New Yorkers. Many of those same vacationers were patrons of contemporary American painting, so it is unsurprising that Kensett began to depict the scenery at Newport in response to demand.2 1. Franklin Kelly, American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I (Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1996), 391.

2. Ibid.

Mount Chocorua

John Frederick Kensett (1816–1872 )

Oil on canvas 121/4 x 14 1/4 inches

$175,000

prove na nce (Probably) Estate of the artist (Probably) Sale, The Collection of Paintings of the Late Mr. John F. Kensett, Association Hall, YMCA, New York, New York, March 24, 1973, lot 101 (as Chicorua, from near Friburg, Me.) N. M. Vose Gallery, Providence, Rhode Island Alma J. L’hommedieu, Cincinnati, Ohio Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, acquired from above Private collection, Bridgewater, New Hampshire, acquired from above, 2008 e xhibite d Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, The American Masters, October 7–December 30, 2021 lite r atur e Important American Paintings, Volume XXII : The American Masters (New York: Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, 2021), n.p. r e l ate d wo r k Mount Chocorua, 1864–66, oil on canvas, 48 x 84 inches; The Century Association, New York, New York note : This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work

by Dr. John P. Driscoll and Huntley Platt.

On the Hudson, 1860

Homer Dodge Martin (1836–1897 )

Oil on canvas 30 1/8 x 56 3/8 inches

Signed and dated lower left: Homer / Martin March 1860 $295,000

Homer Dodge Martin’s expressive, moody

prove na nce

landscapes bridged the transition between the

Thomas Colville Fine Art, New Haven, Connecticut

Hudson River School and the Barbizon move-

Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, acquired from above, 2004

ment in the late nineteenth century. Born in Albany, New York, Martin began painting in the traditional manner of the Hudson River School.

His style began to evolve after a trip to England and France in 1876, the first of several stays abroad. The muted palette, looser brushwork,

Private collection, Punta Gorda, Florida, acquired from above, 2004 Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, acquired from above, 2004 Private collection, Greenwich, Connecticut, acquired from above, 2005

and softened forms of his later work reflect the

e xhibite d

influence of Whistler, Corot, and the French

Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, The American Masters, October 7–December 30, 2021

Barbizon painters, whom he befriended in Europe. Martin was elected an academician at

lite r atur e

the National Academy of Design and helped

Important American Paintings, Volume XXII : The American Masters (New York: Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, 2021), n.p.

to found the Society of American Artists.

Today, his work is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum,

r e l ate d wo r ks

Brooklyn Museum, and Los Angeles County

Storm King on the Hudson, 1862, oil on canvas, 22 x 381/4 inches; Albany Institute of History & Art, New York

Museum of Art.

On the Upper Hudson, mid-1860s, oil on canvas, 27 x 401/4 inches; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska

Beach at Newport, Rhode Island Oil on canvas

James Augustus Suydam

131/16 x 23 inches

(1819–1865)

$375,000

Signed lower right: A Suydam

The paintings of James Augustus Suydam

prove na nce

exemplify the timeless and serene ethos of the

Berry-Hill Galleries, New York, New York

American luminist movement. Often referred

Godel & Co. Fine Art, New York, New York

to as a tonal realist, Suydam was famous for

Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, acquired from above, 2004

atmospheric coastal scenes. Even though the artist was not given toward “a passion for fame and greatness,” he still achieved it. However, because he was independently wealthy and did not depend on his art to generate income, Suydam painted few works. He exhibited at the

The Henry and Sharon Martin Collection, acquired from above, 2004 Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, New York, acquired from above, 2017 Private collection, Bethesda, Maryland, acquired from above, 2017

National Academy of Design, Brooklyn Art

e xhibite d

Association, and Pennsylvania Academy of the

For Spacious Skies: Hudson River School Paintings from the Henry and Sharon Martin Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut, June 10–September 25, 2005

Fine Arts. Around 1852, he began friendships with John F. Kensett, Sanford R. Gifford, and Worthington Whittredge, all of whom mourned his early death at the age of 46 during the prime of his career. His paintings are now held in the collections of the National Academy of Design and the Century Association.

Luminist Horizons: The Art and Collection of James A. Suydam, National Academy Museum, New York, New York, September 15–December 31, 2006; Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio, January 26–April 29, 2007; The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York, June 3–September 16, 2007; Telfair Museums, Savannah, Georgia, October 9, 2007–January 6, 2008 lite r atur e Kevin Sharp, For Spacious Skies: Hudson River School Paintings from the Henry and Sharon Martin Collection (New Britain, CT: New Britain Museum of American Art, 2005), 9, 71–73, no. 14, figs. 1–3.

Katherine E. Manthorne and Mark D. Mitchell, Luminist Horizons: The Art and Collection of James A. Suydam (New York: National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, 2006), 120, 125, fig. 5.1.

Additional Works in the Exhibition p l e a s e c o n tac t u s to r e qu e s t a n i m ag e

Bierstadt, Albert

Cropsey, Jasper Francis

Hart, James M.

Richards, William Trost

A Trail through the Trees

Autumn on the Lake, 1892

Wooded Landscape

Beach Scene

Landscape with Cows near Warwick, New York, 1885

Coastal Scene with Ships on Ocean

Landscape, 1851

Scene in the White Mountains Hays, William Jacob, Sr. Dakota Badlands, 1860

Blakelock, Ralph Albert

On the River, 1883

Herzog, Hermann

A Sawmill in the Woods

Ruins with Figures

Twilight, 1876

Hudson River Landscape, 1867

Twilight on the Sawmill River, 1887

Waterfall at Night

Mist in the Valley

Curtis, George

Hill, John William

Bonfield, William Van de Velde

Sailing Outside Boston

Hudson near Albany

Sandy Beach, Cohasset, Massachusetts

de Haas, Mauritz Frederik Hendrik

On the Hudson Looking North, 1867

Bradford, William

Harbor Scene

Johnson, David

Fairhaven Harbor (Old Tack Works Wharf)

de Haas, William Frederick

Gorham, New Hampshire, 1866

Rocky Shore

Shoreline with Basket and Boats, 1876

Harlem River Aqueduct, 1860

Bricher, Alfred Thompson

Doughty, Thomas

Afternoon by the Ocean

Landscape

Lifting Fog, Grand Manan

Southern Swamp, 1832

Moonlight Seascape Mountain Waterfall Newport Coast

Fairman, James Presidential Range, New Hampshire, 1870

Smith Farm, 1893 Study at Ghent, New York, 1892 View of Lake George, 1857 Kensett, John Frederick

Autumn Scene with Lake

Fuechsel, Hermann

Martin, Homer Dodge

Bush, Norton

View of the Narrows from Brighton Heights, Staten Island, 1860

Evening Solace

Gifford, Sanford Robinson La Riviera di Ponente, Genoa, ca. 1856–57

Moonlight

Manchester, Massachusetts, 1864

Pro Patria

Marina Grande, Capri, with Figures, 1857 Mount Etna from Catania, 1868

Moran, Thomas Sunset, Amagansett, 1905

Reclining Figure in a Mountain Landscape

Self Portrait, 1857

Morning, 1859

Gignoux, Régis François Indian Summer, 1854

Twilight, Valley of the Genesee, 1865

Niagara Falls

Spangler, Claggett D. Catskill Mountain House

Volkmar, Charles On the Hudson, 1867 Whittredge, Worthington Homeward Bound Mountain Forest Wyant, Alexander Helwig Mountain Vista The Quiet Pond

Moran, Edward The Oak Tree in Autumn

On the Long Island Coast

Near Cordoba, Spain

Sonntag, William Louis Forest Interior

Summer Hills, Hunter Mountain, 1867

Cole, Thomas

Sunset, 1865

Sailing Ship on the Horizon, 1880

McEntee, Jervis

Shad Fishing on Lake George, 1868

Colman, Samuel

Red House on the River

Suydam, James Augustus

New England Coastal Scene with Figures, 1864

Casilear, John William

Smith, Henry Pember Country Farm

Newport Shore

At Pasture

Tropical Sunset, 1890

Sunset Rock, Catskill Mountains, 1865 Trees and Meadows of Berkshire, 1871

Pompton, New Jersey, 1879

Ferguson, Henry A.

Autumn Scene

Smillie, George Henry New England Coast Scene

Lake Placid, 1860

Chilean Andes, Cypress Valley

Brown, William Mason

Conanicut Island, 1882

Parton, Arthur A Misty Mountain Lake

right

David Johnson Passing Storm Clouds, 1869, detail c over

Sanford Robinson Gifford Sunset Over the Shawangunks, detail

Autumn Scene with Boat

bac k c over

Parton, Ernest

William Bradford Icebergs, Labrador, detail

View by a Lake

Meridian Printing

Birch, Thomas

Hart, William

printing:

Island in the Hudson

Pat Appleton

Lake in the Mountains, 1870

Doune Castle, 1848

design:

Bigelow, Daniel Folger

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