AN EARLY VIEW FOR VIRGINIA
$1,500
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AUTHOR:
HILL, JOHN
TITLE:
Lynnhaven Bay. From ‘Picturesque Views of American Scenery,” Philadelphia: Thomas T. Ash
CONDITION:
Aquatint with period hand color, 14-1/2 x 19”. Minor signs of aging, generally nice.
DATE:
[1819]-1835
DESCRIPTION:
Lynnhaven Bay is a tidal inlet of the Chesapeake Bay, located between the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. This view seems to be looking north, through the inlet, with large sailing ships on the Chesapeake Bay in the distance. It was one of a series of twenty views of American scenery, based upon paintings by Joshua Shaw, and engraved by John Hill, which were published under the title Picturesque Views. The original proposal was to publish six installments of six views each, but only three parts were issued. This view is from the second edition published by Ash in 1835.
Deak praises this celebrated work as the “first systematic attempt to record the New World’s landscape … which helped to prepare the ground for the later marvels of the Hudson River School.” Richard J. Koke calls it “s milestone in American printmaking
… It was a foundation book for American color-plate publication.”
REFERENCES:
Deak, Picturing America, 315 (13), Koke; “John Hill Master of Aquatint” (pp. 76-83)
Inventory No. 8179
