SOLD Harlem River Aqueduct, 1860

by David Johnson (1827–1908)

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Oil on canvas
7½ x 12⅞ inches
Initialed and dated lower left: D. J. 1860.

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Information

Provenance

(Possibly) O. M. Fitch, 1861

Rabin-Krueger Gallery, Newark, New Jersey, by 1960

Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, New York

Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, New York, May 29, 1986, lot 33

Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, New York, by 1986

Private collection, Bethesda, Maryland, acquired from above, 1989

Exhibited

(Possibly) Thirty-Sixth Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design, New York, New York, March 20–April 25, 1861, no. 391 (as Scene on the Harlem River)

Nature Transcribed: The Landscapes and Still Lifes of David Johnson (1827–1908), Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York, November 5–December 23, 1988; University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, Maryland, February 1–March 5, 1989; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia, April 1–May 7, 1989; National Academy of Design, New York, New York, July 10–September 10, 1989, no. 8

The Old Croton Aqueduct: Rural Resources Meet Urban Needs, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York, October 2, 1992–February 7, 1993

Literature

Gwendolyn Owens, Nature Transcribed: The Landscapes and Still Lifes of David Johnson (1827–1908) (Ithaca, NY: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, 1988), 24–26, 65, 73, no. 8.

The Old Croton Aqueduct: Rural Resources Meet Urban Needs (Yonkers, NY: Hudson River Museum, 1992), 53–54, 56, 63, fig. 50.

Related Work

High Bridge, ca. 1860, oil on paper, 4¾ x 3¾ inches; Private collection, as reproduced in The Old Croton Aqueduct: Rural Resources Meet Urban Needs (Yonkers, NY: Hudson River Museum, 1992), cover.

Note: Johnson became interested in bridges in 1860, at which time he began painting the Harlem River Aqueduct (New York) and Natural Bridge (Virginia). The Harlem River Aqueduct, also known as the High Bridge, was built in the mid-19th century to bring water from upstate New York to New York City. Its design is highly reminiscent of the ancient Roman aqueducts.[1]

[1] Gwendolyn Owens, Nature Transcribed: The Landscapes and Still Lifes of David Johnson (1827–1908) (Ithaca, NY: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, 1988), 24.

Artist Biography

As a second-generation member of the Hudson River School, David Johnson experienced artistic success during the second half of the nineteenth century. The style of his rocky landscape scenes tended to coincide with whatever genre the current art market dictated as on trend, with his later works demonstrating a distinctly luminist influence.

By Chelsea DeLay

I. Biography
II. Chronology
III. Collections
IV. Exhibitions
V. Memberships
VI. Suggested Resources
VII. Notes

I. Biography

Born in New York City on May 10, 1827, David Johnson went on to become a skilled landscape artist who led a relatively quiet life.[1] Johnson was essentially a self-taught