.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Known as an iconic natural wonder since the 1700s, the 215-foot tall Natural Bridge of Virginia is located along Cedar Creek, near Lexington, on land once owned by President Thomas Jefferson. In the nineteenth century, the popularity of the landmark grew to rival that of Niagara Falls, and countless visitors traveled by horse and carriage to stay in one of the large hotels that were built to accommodate the crowds. Hudson River School artist David Johnson made at least one visit to this acclaimed site in 1860, and his appreciation for the majesty of the landscape is beautifully recorded in The Natural Bridge of Virginia.
Earl A. Powell writes of the present work, "Completed in 1860, The Natural Bridge of Virginia clearly reveals the artist's interest and ability to detail finely the surface textures of the rock formation in a draftsmanly style of Ruskian persuasion. The picture is, however, more than an accumulation of naturalistic detail; the size and majesty of the bridge is given perspective and scale by the inclusion of figures along the river, and the whole coheres in a fusion of rich color and light that marks this as one of Johnson's best pictures." (Nineteenth-Century Art from the collection of Jo Ann & Julian Ganz, exhibition catalogue, Washington, D.C., 1981, pp. 17-18)
As epitomized by this painting, "Johnson's tranquil meditations always study and celebrate the aesthetic harmonies in patterns of color, shape, and texture which link the diverse elements of the landscape, the ecological relations which make each natural element a part of an intricate whole and also the close interdependence between the natural system and the people who come to it for their livelihood, their recreation, and their spiritual renewal. Emphasizing these harmonies, Johnson's paintings seem intended to serve as the bridge between human viewers and the world." (G. Owens, Nature Transcribed: The Landscapes and Still Lifes of David Johnson, Ithaca, New York, 1988, p. 13)
A related work (Natural Bridge, Virginia, 1860) is in the collection of Reynolda House Museum of Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In addition, Samuel Valentine Hunt created an engraving based on Johnson's smaller-scale oil painting of this same scene (Private Collection).
Earl A. Powell writes of the present work, "Completed in 1860, The Natural Bridge of Virginia clearly reveals the artist's interest and ability to detail finely the surface textures of the rock formation in a draftsmanly style of Ruskian persuasion. The picture is, however, more than an accumulation of naturalistic detail; the size and majesty of the bridge is given perspective and scale by the inclusion of figures along the river, and the whole coheres in a fusion of rich color and light that marks this as one of Johnson's best pictures." (Nineteenth-Century Art from the collection of Jo Ann & Julian Ganz, exhibition catalogue, Washington, D.C., 1981, pp. 17-18)
As epitomized by this painting, "Johnson's tranquil meditations always study and celebrate the aesthetic harmonies in patterns of color, shape, and texture which link the diverse elements of the landscape, the ecological relations which make each natural element a part of an intricate whole and also the close interdependence between the natural system and the people who come to it for their livelihood, their recreation, and their spiritual renewal. Emphasizing these harmonies, Johnson's paintings seem intended to serve as the bridge between human viewers and the world." (G. Owens, Nature Transcribed: The Landscapes and Still Lifes of David Johnson, Ithaca, New York, 1988, p. 13)
A related work (Natural Bridge, Virginia, 1860) is in the collection of Reynolda House Museum of Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In addition, Samuel Valentine Hunt created an engraving based on Johnson's smaller-scale oil painting of this same scene (Private Collection).