James Augustus Suydam (1819-1865)

Hook Mountain, Hudson River

Details

James Augustus Suydam (1819-1865)
Hook Mountain, Hudson River
signed with initials and dated 'J.A.S. 1863' (lower left)
oil on canvas
12 ½ x 22 in. (31 ¾ x 55.9 cm)
Painted in 1863.

Provenance

The artist.
Smith Cliff, (probably) acquired from the above, 1863.
John J. Hall.
Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York.
Private collection, New York, acquired from the above, 1982.
[With]Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York.
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1996.

Literature

K. Cornwallis, The Knickerbocker Monthly, vol. 62, 1863, p. 89.
C.E. Clement, L. Hutton, Artists of the Nineteenth Century and their Works, vol. 2, Boston, Massachusetts, 1879, p. 280 (as Hook Mountain on the Hudson).
J.G. Wilson, J. Fiske, Appleton’s Cyclopædia of American Biography, vol. VI, New York, 1889, p. 3 (as Hook Mountain on the Hudson).
J.D. Champlin, ed., Cyclopedia of Painters and Paintings, New York, vol. 4, 1886-87, p. 247.
G.C. Williamson, ed., Bryan’s Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, vol. 5, London, 1919, pp. 145-46 (as Hook Mountain on the Hudson).
M. Naylor, ed., The National Academy of Design Exhibition Record: 1861-1900, vol. 2, New York, 1973, p. 907.
Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., American Paintings II, New York, 1983, p. 12, illustrated.
I. Weiss, Poetic Landscape: The Art and Experience of Sanford R. Gifford, Cranbury, New Jersey, 1987, p. 260 (as Hook Mountain on the Hudson).

Exhibited

New York, National Academy of Design, National Academy of Design Annual Exhibition, April 14-June 24, 1863, no. 64.
New York, National Academy of Design, National Academy of Design Annual Exhibition, April 7-July 4, 1866, no. 217.
New York, Union League Club, Catalogue of Paintings Exhibited at the Ladies' Reception, January 26, 1875, no. 11 (as Hood Mountain).
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United State Centennial Commissions, International Exhibition, 1876, no. 183 (as Hudson River).
New York, National Academy Museum; Cincinnati, Ohio, Taft Museum of Art; Glens Falls, New York, The Hyde Collection; Savannah, Georgia, Telfair Museum of Art, Luminist Horizons: The Art and Collection of James A. Suydam, September 14, 2006-January 6, 2008, pp. 40-41, 45n75, 154, fig. 1.15, illustrated (as Hook Mountain, Hudson River (View of Lake George)).
Charleston, South Carolina, Gibbes Museum of Art; Alexandria, Louisiana, Alexandria Museum of Art; Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville Museum of Art; Lakeland, Florida, Polk Museum of Art, Painting a Nation: Hudson River School Landscapes from the Higdon Collection, December 2, 2016-May 19, 2018, pp. 11, 23, pl. 2 (as Hook Mountain, Hudson River (View of Lake George)).

Brought to you by

William Haydock

whaydock@christies.com 212-636-2140

Lot Essay

James Augustus Suydam was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1861. According to Katherine E. Manthorne, "This brief period from 1861 until his death in 1865, then, gave rise to the works of his artistic maturity." (Luminist Horizons: The Art and Collection of James A. Suydam, exhibition catalogue, New York, p. 41)

When the present work was first exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1863, a contemporary viewer wrote, "Few artists have accomplished as much during the past years as James Suydam. In the present exhibition are two really excellent pictures, 'Hook Mountain, Hudson River' and 'New London Lighthouse." (The Knickerbocker, vol. 62, 1863, p. 89) G.C. Williamson notes, "His 'Hook Mountain on the Hudson' created some sensation when first exhibited, and was at once purchased for a notable collection." (Bryan’s Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, London, 1919, vol. 5, pp. 145-46)

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