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Item #33678 Baker's Falls No. 8 of the Hudson River Port Folio. John HILL, William Guy WALL, engraver.

HILL, John (1770-1850, engraver) & William Guy WALL (1792-1864)

Baker's Falls No. 8 of the Hudson River Port Folio

New York: Henry I. Megarey, [1822-23]. Aquatint, coloured by hand, by John Hill, after W.G. Wall. Sheet size: 23 5/16 x 17 3/16 inches.

A great example of one of the earliest and finest American printed landscape.

"In the summer of 1820 the Irish-born and trained landscape artist William Guy Wall (1792-after 1864) went on an extended sketching tour of the Hudson River Valley and its environs. A selection of Wall's watercolors recording sights on his tour was engraved by the master printmaker John Hill (1770-1850) in The Hudson River Portfolio, published in New York City by Henry J. Megarey between 1821 and 1825. Long considered a cornerstone in the development of American printmaking and landscape painting, its twenty topographical views cover roughly 212 miles of the 315-mile course of the Hudson River. This undertaking paved the way for a wider public appreciation of landscape in the United States. The first series of prints to make Americans aware of the beauty and sublimity of their own scenery, the seminal Portfolio helped to stimulate national pride and cultural identity. Baker's Falls was named after Albert Baker who came to Washington County north of Albany near Saratoga and Lake George in 1768. He built a dam and saw mill at the falls that are believed to be the highest on the mighty Hudson River. A town by that name was built near an Iroquois trail and remained a vital travel route through the American Revolution." (from the New York Historical Society notes to an exhibition)

Deak, 217-218; New York Historical Society notes to an exhibition on the Hudson River School.

Item #33678

Price: $3,500.00

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