An extensive gathering of pleasing to the eye Black and White plus some colour images - A collection of superb Gallery Prints on archival quality Fine Art Paper - Creating a fabulous History, Nostalgia and Decorative Wall Art Centre of images from long ago Niagara

Note:Each picture holds a story from long ago. The facts about the event or location depicted in each of these pictures are noted in a related to the image document that is included with your artwork and is suitable for display with your picture. You’ll find these true stories fascinating and many are stranger than fiction

Decorate your home or place of business walls with some interesting conversation pieces from the past.

Niagara Writer Old Time Gallery Prints – Official Gallery Print Edition

Subject:
Niagara in Art is a collection of scenes from the time of the Niagara River’s discovery…

Niagara in art dates back but a trifle over three centuries, the first known picture thereof being that by Father Louis Hennepin, published in 1697. No one spot on earth has been more portrayed, one may go farther and say, no one spot on earth has been half as much portrayed, as has Niagara. It has been pictured in every known style of art; in oils, in water colors, in engravings of every grade and kind, in lithographs, in every form of illustration known to magazines and newspapers, in daguerreotypes, and, lastly (numerically exceeding many, many times all the other forms combined), in photography.

And yet, in spite of all this, the really great pictures drawn or painted of Niagara are so few that their number can be expressed by a single numeral, and that number will not be highest single one.

None of the great painters of mediaeval times ever even knew of the existence of the great cataract. Raphael, Michael Angelo, Titian and Veronese had all been in their graves for half a century before Europeans even heard that a wondrous waterfall existed in the northern part of the Western Hemisphere. Rembrandt, Murillo, Rubens and Velasquez, while all of them may have learnt of the existence of Niagara, had passed away, before the first known picture of it appeared. As each of them in the glory of their art, both in their allegory and portraiture, often used natural scenery as a background for their subjects, it is interesting to conjecture how, had it been known to them by even incorrect reproduction, any of them would have depicted the great cataract.

No one of the great artists of the eighteenth century ever journeyed to Niagara; and their art was true to nature, no one of them, so far as is known, ever tried to reproduce Niagara in any way.

Art was not a ruminative occupation in Great Britain’s American colonies; neither was the period of the revolution, nor the decade that followed it, conducive thereto, on this side of the Atlantic.

Yet it is remarkable that such a subject as Niagara, so prominent during their lives, in Britain’s military history (in her struggle with France for supremacy in the New World), did not appeal to Reynolds, or West, or Copley, to the latter two especially, as both were born in the colonies, though they spent much of their lives in England.

Again in the first decade of the nineteenth century, what a picture of the cataract either Turner or Allston – the one an Englishman, the other an American – could have produced; and yet, although the war of 1812 was fought to a large extent on this frontier, and a famous battle, often called the battle of Niagara, occurred on the heights above the cataract, and in view of it, the portrayal of Niagara did not appeal in either of them.

It was left to later and less famed artists to produce what are called the great pictures of the greatest of natural wonders.

Commencing with Hennepin’s picture, in 1697 first half of the eighteenth century saw many reproductions of Niagara, mainly in wood engraving, all done by artists who never saw Niagara, largely by engravers of the French school, for it must be borne in mind that the French were the owners of Eastern Canada, and from 1678 to 1725 the Niagara region was visited by a large number of Frenchmen, both soldiers and fur traders; and from 1725 to 1759 Fort Niagara was garrisoned by a large French force. Such of these men as returned to France carried back with them reports of the cataract; and it was no doubt with Hennepin’s picture as a basis, modified by the criticisms thereon and suggestions in connection therewith, made by their countrymen who had seen it, that all the reproductions of Niagara during the first half of the eighteenth century were drawn.

As illustrative of Niagara in art during the first half of the eighteenth century, I have selected three prints:

First ‘Old Time Gallery Print’ number 1901 114118Hennepin’s work published 1697, though he saw the Falls in 1678-80.

Second ‘Old Time Gallery Print’ number 1901 114298Leclercq’s, about 1710, based no doubt on Hennepin’s view, and modified to better conform to Hennepin’s own description, and probably with such changes as friends of his who had seen Niagara suggested.

Third ‘Old Time Gallery Print’ number 1901 114300A typical view, practically the typical accepted view, of Niagara of that period, probably about 1725

The dates of these three pictures give convincing testimony as to the changes in the contour of the Falls. Hennepin speaks of the three falls, including one that was at the western end of the Horseshoe Fall, formed by the end of the fall running around a big rock, or small rocky isle, at the edge of the cliff, and he so pictured it.

Niagara in Art 1678
# 1901 114118
This is the First of the Niagara in Art illustrative Selections

On the Canadian side of the Niagara River Border when entering the Victoria Park via Newman Hill or Clifton Hill you obtain a view of Niagara from here the American Fall is seen from nearly in front. Turning your sight toward the Horseshoe Fall, of which you now get a splendid distant view. In the area between these hill roads you’re at the point from which was taken the first known picture of Niagara.

Father Hennepin first saw the Falls in December, 1678, but his picture, drawn probably from memory, was not published until 1697. From here, too, is taken the view of the rarest of all Niagara pictures, engraved by Leclercq about 1700. It is based on this Hennepin view, though considerably changed, and the supposition is that this artist, desiring to unite in one plate the greatest natural wonder on earth and the greatest honor ever vouchsafed by the Almighty to mortal man, added in one corner of the view of Elijah and his chariot. It is reproduced in this Niagara in Art section as # 1901 314296.

Niagara # 1901 114118 is available in the following sheet sizes:

Niagara in Art 1700
# 1901 114298
This is the Second of the Niagara in Art illustrative Selections

This second view does not show this third fall, going to show that between 1678 and 1710 this rock, or rocky isle, had disintegrated and been swept into the gulf below, thus making this third fall a part of the great Fall. This depiction is based no doubt on Hennepin’s view, and modified to better conform to Hennepin’s own description, and probably with such changes as friends of his who had seen Niagara suggested.

Niagara # 1901 114298 is available in the following sheet sizes:

Niagara in Art 1768
# 1901 114300
This is the Third of the Niagara in Art illustrative Selections

In 1759 the British gained control of this region and during that year and the succeeding ten years many hundred English soldiers and traders gazed upon Niagara.

Thus the picturing of Niagara in the second half of the eighteenth century passed from the French to the English school of engravers. And as Niagara became better known, its reproductions became more artistic, and therefore, more truthful.

Probably the first picture of Niagara after the British acquired possession of this territory was an engraving from a drawing by Captain Thomas Davies, dedicated to General Amherst. It must have appeared about 1760, the plate being one of a series of six, all representing North American scenery. The rainbow must have been an exceptionally large and brilliant one on the day the Captain made the sketch.

In 1768 there appeared the first engraving of Niagara which had any serious pretensions either to accuracy or to any artistic merit. It was… Get the full details in the Image Document sent with your ‘Old Time Gallery Print’ reprint on Fine Art Paper.

Niagara # 1901 114300 is available in the following sheet sizes:

Father Hennepin first saw the Falls in December, 1678, but his picture, drawn probably from memory, was not published until 1697. From it is taken the view of the rarest of all Niagara pictures, engraved by Leclercq about 1700. It is based on Hennepin’s view, though considerably changed, and the supposition is that this artist, desiring to unite in one plate the greatest natural wonder on earth and the greatest honor ever vouchsafed by the Almighty to mortal man, added in one corner of the view of Elijah and his chariot. It is reproduced here as Niagara

# 1901 114296 it is available in the following sheet sizes:

In 1759, the British gained control of this region, and during that year and the succeeding ten years many hundred of Anglo-Saxons, soldiers and traders, gazed upon Niagara.

Thus the picturing of Niagara in the second half of the eighteenth century passed from the French to the English school of engravers; and, as Niagara became better known, its reproduction became more artistic, and therefore, more truthful.

Probably the first picture of Niagara after the British acquired possession of this territory was an engraving from a drawing by Captain Thomas Davies, dedicated to General Amherst. It must have appeared about 1760, the plate being one of a series of six, all representing North American scenery. The rainbow must have been an exceptionally large and brilliant one on the day the artist made the sketch.

In 1768 there appeared the first engraving of Niagara which had any serious pretensions to accuracy or to any artistic merit. It was from a painting by Richard Wilson, which in turn was taken from a drawing made by Lieutenant Pierie of the Royal British Artillery, who no doubt, was then stationed at Fort Niagara. These two engravings are reproduced as typical of Niagara in art in the latter half of the eighteenth century.

Niagara # 1901 114302 is available in the following sheet sizes:

After the revolution, and prior to 1810, travelers often came to Niagara. The journey, it was true, was a tiresome one, but many came.

In 1804 john Vanderlyn painted what at that date were the best pictures extant of the Falls. They were done in oils,, these two pictures in 1901 were in the possession of the New York Historical Society, so badly hung as to be unappreciated.

It is to be noted that all the views of Niagara prior to 1800 are taken from the Canadian side.

The reason for this is obvious. The early visitors sought the one and the most accessible view. Goat Island was accessible only by canoe, the shore on the American side was covered with forest trees, and there was no accommodation for travelers, nor even a settlement there; whereas on the Canadian shore two or three public houses had been built on the high bluff overlooking the American Fall in the latter years of the eighteenth century. What facilities for travel there were, were on the Canadian shore.

Along about 1820, Niagara became a resort of note. Taverns, luxurious ones for that period, were erected on the American side about that date, and the first guide book that included Niagara appeared in 1821, a sure sign that it was a frequented place.

Between 1830 and 1840, the illustrations of Niagara became more plentiful. The lithographers in France, England and America seemed suddenly to have turned their attention to it. Large colored views, in pairs, in sets of four and six, and small views, in sets of six and eight, and twelve appeared. Some were fairly well drawn; many were outrageously exaggerated. The coloring of almost all of them was inartistic, if not villainous. As fairly typical of Niagara in the lithography of the first half of the nineteenth century, the one view selected was done about 1840, is especially interesting, in that it shows the curve of the Horseshoe Fall, a name substituted during the first half of this century for the former more appropriate name of the Greater Fall.

Niagara # 1901 114304 is available in the following sheet sizes:

As representing Niagara in art during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the following has been selected:

Thomas Cole’s distant view of both Falls from down stream

The middle of the nineteenth century saw the art of Niagara placed on a far higher plane by American artists. In 1848, Thomas Cole portrayed Niagara on canvas better than it ever had been portrayed.

In 1857, Frederick Church painted his famous view of the cataract, which is in the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington. And to the early 1900s it stands as the best and highest reproduction of Niagara in art.

Gustave Dore never gazed on the Falls but, in illustrating Chataubriand’s Atala, embodied a view of the Great Fall, done in his characteristic manner – the sheet of water viewed from between, and as it were framed in, the mannered trees for which Dore was famed.

Albert Bierstadt has produced one or two especially well executed views of Niagara out of his many studies of the subject.

The rapids above the Falls, that have appealed to many prose writers and poets as the most interesting parts of Niagara, have, of recent years, found two artists of renown who selected them for reproduction in preference to the Falls themselves.

When wm. M. Hunt was selected to decorate the huge panels of the assembly chamber in the capital at Albany, about 1880, he chose Niagara for one of his subjects; and at Niagara he selected the rapids above the Goat Island Bridge as the ideal view. He died before the work on the panel had been commenced, but his finished studies for the work are among the best examples of art at Niagara.

Lastly, in 1890, Colin hunter, a Royal Academician, came to place Niagara on canvas. He selected as the typical view, the one from the upper end of the Little Brother Island, of the Goat Island group. It is doubtful if, with the exception of Church’s Niagara, any picture of Niagara is so fascinating.

The crest of the first ledge of the Canadian Rapids, extending from the Sister Island toward Canada, is the sky line, only the tops of a few trees on the Canadian shore indicating the presence of land.

As representing Niagara in art during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the following has been selected:

Thomas Cole’s distant view of both Falls from down stream # 1901 114306

Frederick Church’s Niagara, from just above Table Rock and looking across the Horseshoe Fall and up the river # 1901 114308

Dore’s Niagara as a “mannered sketch” # 1901 114310

Colin Hunter’s Rapids of Niagara # 1901 114094

Many more examples might be given, and, perhaps at some future date, this sketch of Niagara in art may be extended so as to include a fairly full set of the typical reproductions that have been made of the scenery of the cataract during the two hundred years it has been known to the world by reproduction.

Niagara # 1901 114306 is available in the following sheet sizes:

As representing Niagara in art during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the following has been selected:

Frederick Church’s Niagara, from just above Table Rock and looking across the Horseshoe Fall and up the river

In 1857, Frederick Church painted his famous view of the cataract, which is in the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington. And to the early 1900s it stands as the best and highest reproduction of Niagara in art.

Niagara # 1901 114308 is available in the following sheet sizes:

As representing Niagara in art during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the following has been selected:

Dore’s Niagara as a “mannered sketch”

Gustave Dore never gazed on the Falls but, in illustrating Chataubriand’s Atala, embodied a view of the Great Fall, done in his characteristic manner – the sheet of water viewed from between, and as it were framed in, the mannered trees for which Dore was famed.

It was painted by Gustave Dore, about 1860

Niagara # 1901 114310 is available in the following sheet sizes:

Many of them represent views heretofore inadequately pictured, in some cases never before known to have been secured. And the desire of the great majority of visitors to carry home a fairly faithful picture of Niagara, as they saw it, is the main reason for its being incessantly photographed, both by experts and by amateurs.

It is the immensity, so to speak, of Niagara; it is the overwhelming feeling of power; it is its practically un-produce-able lights and shades; it is almost unattainable brilliancy of its color – that have deterred many really great artists from attempting to paint it.

Most everyone will agree with Hatton when he writes: “The painter is delighted with Niagara, with the varying forms that challenge his pencil, with the play of light which defies his brush. The light of heaven dances upon it in a thousand different hues. To paint the glories that come and go upon the falling, rushing waters, the artist must dip his brush in the rainbow, and when he has done his best, he will not be believed by those who have not seen his subject with their own eyes.”

Whether the cataract can be, or will ever be, really truthfully pictured depends on the correctness of the following statement:“When motion can be expressed by color, there will be some hope of imparting a faint idea of it; but until that can be done, Niagara must remain un-portrayed.”

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