Name/Title
ALBANY, VUE PRISE DE KEEN'WOODEntry/Object ID
L.2012.165Description
This view of Albany, with the Hudson in the distance, appeared in both the English and French editions of Picturesque America, edited by William Cullen Bryant. The book provides an armchair tour of North America, with illustrations by noted American artists, including Henry Fenn and John Douglas Woodward. Naturally, no tour of North America was complete without scenes along the Hudson, including both natural wonders and signs of American progress in building and cultivation.
The steam rising from structures along the shoreline shows industry and farming co-existed in Albany and the nearby hamlet of Kenwood. Both endeavors were vital to the growth of New York State and were dependent upon the river. While the foreground image of the farmer and his oxcart of pumpkins and shocks of corn could date from an earlier century, the view also includes the train, part of an expanding rail network which would eventually bypass the steamboat as the most efficient means of transportation for both the farmer and his crops to travel the length of the river.
Colored engraving of fields with city buildings of Albany in background; field with pumpkins in foreground; sheaves set in field; wood cart with two oxen; farmer loads pumpkins into cart; river at right center; dense group of buildings on hill at left and on opposite side of river; smoke above large factory buildings at center; steam train at center left; mountains in distance at center; at bottom center, printed: "ALBANY, VUE PRISE DE KEEN'WOOD."; at right side, printed, from top: "280"/"L'AMÉRIQUE DU NORD PITTORESQUE."; partial section of text below image and on verso.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Harry FennAttribution
ArtistArtist
John Douglas WoodwardAttribution
ArtistArtist
John FilmerAttribution
EngraverManufacturer
A. QuantinDate made
1880Other Names
Name Type
Other TitleOther Name
ALBANY, VUE PRISE DE KEEN'WOOD.Dimensions
Dimension Description
OverallHeight
7-1/2 inWidth
12-5/16 inDimension Notes
Display Dimensions: 7 1/2 x 12 5/16 in. (19.1 x 31.3 cm)Material
Paper, ink, WatercolorCondition
Notes
Remarks: Paper is yellowed; uneven bottom edge: partial section of book page; stains from tape at top right and top left corners; tears at bottom right corner and at top edge on left; creases at top edge on left; stain (green watercolor) at top center; verso: penciled "202" at bottom right.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
William DieboldNotes
Former ownerGeneral Notes
Note Type
Curatorial RemarksNote
This object was accessioned in 2012, but it was acquired earlier [Jessa J. Krick, 4/12/2012].Note Type
General NoteNote
Albany, vue prise de Keen’wood, illustration from a French edition of L’Amerique du Nord Pittoresque (a translation of William Cullen Bryant’s Picturesque America), published by A. Quantin, 1880; colored engraving (ink on paper).Note Type
StorageNoteNote
Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Administrative Office, Archive Room, Shelf O3, B7Note Type
DepartmentNote
Library