Newburg [Newburgh] (No. 14 of The Hudson River Portfolio)

John Hill|William Guy Wall|Henry J. Megarey

1825 · Aquatint printed in color with hand-coloring; first state of two (Koke) · Drawings and Prints

Newburgh sits on the west bank of the river, about sixty-six miles south of Hudson and within the Higlands. John Agg's related text notes that, "no site could have been selected for a village, which possesses so many striking advantages. A very great and profitable trade has been consequently established here, which is also the depository and outlet for large quantities of produce constantly arriving from the interior," giving employment to about fifty vessels.The print comes from the Hudson River Portfolio, a monument of American printmaking produced through the collaboration of artists, a writer, and publishers. In the summer of 1820, the Irish-born Wall toured and sketched along the Hudson, then painted a series of large watercolors. Prints of equal scale were proposed—to be issued to subscribers in sets of four—and John Rubens Smith hired to work the plates. Almost immediately, Smith was replaced by the skilled London-trained aquatint engraver John Hill, who finished the first four plates, and produced sixteen more by 1825. Over the next decade, the popularity of the Portfolio stimulated new appreciation for American landscape, and prepared the way for the Hudson River School.

Artist

John Hill|William Guy Wall|Henry J. Megarey

Date

1825

Medium

Aquatint printed in color with hand-coloring; first state of two (Koke)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954