Name/Title
LIGHTHOUSE ON THE HUDSONEntry/Object ID
L.2007.16Description
"This picturesque object is seen to great effect by the passenger in the evening boat from New York to Newburgh...while the last tints of the sunset are still in the sky, the stars just beginning to twinkle...the bright light of this lofty beacon rises up over the prow of the boat." With these lines Nathanial Parker Willis described the view of first lighthouse to be built on the Hudson River, near the opening of the Hudson Highlands at Caldwell's Landing, now called Stony Point. Built in 1826, it immediately became a landmark for river travelers. Not surprisingly Englishman William Barlett chose in to include the landmark among the watercolor drawings he made of the Hudson for American Scenery, an illustrated tour of the young nation, commissioned by publisher George Virtue. The artist has taken considerable license with this image. While he captured the the lighthouse's setting high about the river, he also made the building much taller and changed the topography by adding the Highlands beyond to make view much more dramatic. In placing a variety of ships and a log drive in the foreground, Barlett conveys the bustle of activity from all along the river into a single view.
Colored steel cut engraving of sailboats, a steamboat, and rafts on the rough waters of the Hudson: in the left foreground, a figure stands on a wooden pier; docked at pier, a sailboat and two canoes; a second figure climbs from one of the canoes onto the pier; piles of wood sit on its edge; in the right foreground, a rustic raft, made of logs with a shed on top; two figures with poles direct the raft; in the center of the river, a small sailboat, a grand sloop, a tall-ship, and a steamboat; more sailboats visible in the distance; a white lighthouse surrounded by two smaller buildings sits atop a hill on the far side of the river; the highlands make up the background; below the scene, on far left corner, printed: "W.H.Bartlett."; in center, printed, a miniscule "37"; on far right corner, printed: "H. Adlard."; in center, the title, printed: "LIGHTHOUSE ON THE HUDSON."Artwork Details
Medium
Paper (wove), Ink, Watercolor, Paper (wove), ink, watercolorMade/Created
Artist Information
Artist
William Henry BartlettAttribution
ArtistArtist
Henry AdlardAttribution
EngraverDate made
circa 1840Dimensions
Dimension Description
OverallHeight
9-3/4 inWidth
12 inDimension Notes
Display Dimensions: 9 3/4 x 12 in. (24.8 x 30.5 cm)Condition
Notes
Remarks: Discoloration in a square surrounding the image; yellowing and slight tears along bottom edge; tear two inches in length bottom center; loss upper left corner; two losses top right edge; loss top right corner; tear right edge, 3 ½ inches from bottom; yellowing along left, top, and right edges; recto has yellowing and soil throughout; line of red accretion, three inches from top; yellowing adhesive tape along bottom, right, and top edges; writing in pen, top left edge.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
William DieboldNotes
Former ownerGeneral Notes
Note Type
Curatorial RemarksNote
Diebold Box #36Note Type
General NoteNote
Lighthouse on the Hudson is a copy of plate number 31 in American Scenery: Or, Land, Lake and River Illustrations of Transatlantic Nature. Publisher George Virtue commissioned William H. Bartlett to illustrate American Scenery, for which N.P. Willis wrote the text. Bartlett completed these watercolor drawings during two visits to America between 1836 and 1838. The drawings were engraved starting in 1837 by numerous English engravers and published in installments of four engravings. Subscribers could have the prints bound in two volumes in 1840 when the installments were complete.Note Type
StorageNoteNote
Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Administrative Office, Archive Room, Shelf O3, B4Note Type
DepartmentNote
Library