1850s Art

In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States government set out to survey and document its newly acquired lands and territories west of the Mississippi. The goals of these surveys were manifold: to produce topographical maps, to document flora and fauna, and to document natural resources to build the emerging US economy. These surveys, and the images from them, also functioned to build the new sense of American identity with the landscape, condensing vistas into the 'picturesque' tradition of European image making. Thus, the entire span of US territory could be seen as a single, cohesive whole. This lithograph comes from one of six surveys commissioned by the Army's Topographic Bureau in 1853, which sought to find the best route to construct a transcontinental railroad. The result was a thirteen-volume report including maps, lithographs, and technical data entitled 'Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific Ocean.' When it came to depicting the Columbia River, as seen in the present print, Stanley chose to depict the river's characteristic rock formations and choppy waters. The figures in the image give the viewer a sense of the vase scale of the imposing landscape. Other explorers that reached the site years before the Pacific Railroad Survey, such as Lewis and Clark, observed this scene with wonder and awe – and it is clear Stanley felt the same way. 5.75 x 8.75 inches, image 6.5 x 9.25 inches, stone 13.25 x 16.25 inches, frame Artist 'Stanley Del.' lower left Entitled 'Kettle Falls, Columbia River' lower center margin Publisher 'Sarony, Major & Knapp. Lith.s 449 Broadway N.Y.' lower right Inscribed 'U.S.P.R.R. EXP. & SURVEYS — 47th & 49th PARALLELS' upper left Inscribed 'GENERAL REPORT — PLATE XLVII' upper right Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent rag matting and Museum Glass to inhibit fading; housed in a brass-surface aluminium moulding. Print in overall good condition; wrinkles in upper margin and upper right corner; frame in excellent condition. John Mix Stanley...

"Skating at Boston" is an original woodcut print by Winslow Homer. It depicts a large number of figures figure skating with Boston in the background. 9...

"Camanche Inscription on the Shoulder Blade of a Buffalo" is a lithograph after an original drawing by Seth Eastman. It depicts Native American inscriptions on an animal bone. It was...

To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, including others by George Pyne, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want. George Pyne (1800 - 1884) St John’s College, Cambridge Old Chapel Watercolour 35 x 23 cm A view of the Old Chapel of St John’s College, Cambridge before its demolition. In 1861, the Fellows of St John’s agreed to mark the seven hundredth jubilee of their college by building a new chapel. Sir George Gilbert...

Edward J. Howman (English, nineteenth century) Castel dell'Ovo, Naples, 1851 Watercolor and gouache on paper, 7 x 10 inches Framed: 12 x 15 inches (approx.) Label on backing verso: ...

Wolverhampton School of Practical Art Original artwork for engraving published for London Illustrated News (25 June 1853) 17.5x29cm Watercolour

White Bathing Costume by Becker on Austrian Beach -- Photographed by Mark Shaw for a LIFE magazine article on Austrian fashion, this model sports a beach costume designed by Bessie Becker...

A beautifully painted oil on canvas of a flower vendor. Signed illegibly upper right corner. Framed in an ornate ebonized and gilded frame.

Paul Gavarni (1804-1866) La Soubrette (The handmaid), pencil, watercolor and heightenings of gouache on paper Signed lower right (faded) 20 x 15 cm In quite good condition, lightly sunstroke and yellowed Framed 28.5 x 23 cm Paul Gavarni was the nom de plume of Sulpice Guillaume Chevalier (13 January 1804 – 24 November 1866), a French illustrator, born in Paris. The story is told that he took his name from Gavarnie in Luz-Saint-Sauveur where he had taken a journey into the Pyrenees. He was a very famous illustrator, friend of Felix Nadar...

A signed, dated, 1855 terracotta, classical style sculpture of the robed figure of Fate holding the thread of life by listed, Austrian-born artist, Franz Melnitzky (1822-1876) whose ...

just purchased more information to follow Cypher lower right Within a grey mount, 14cm high, 28cm long The gilded cavetto moulded frame 28 cm high, 41 cm long, 3.5cm deep

Aquatint in colours, circa 1955, on Rives BFK wove paper, signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 300, published by Atelier Crommelynck, Paris, with their blindstamp, 56 x ...

Charles Cumberworth (1811-1852) Indian Huntress Bronze with double patina Vittoz chiseller Old cast France circa 1850 height 52 cm Biography: Charles Cumberworth (1811-1852), son...

John Gould (British, 1804-1881) Nasiterna Bruijni c. 1849-1861 Hand Colored Lithograph Image Size: approx 19.5 x 13.5 inches Framed Size: 27 3/8 x 21 1/2 inches John Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould's work is referenced in Charles Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species. Gould was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, the son of a gardener, and the boy probably had a scanty education. Shortly afterwards his father obtained a position on an estate near Guildford, Surrey, and then in 1818 became foreman in the Royal Gardens of Windsor. He was for some time under the care of J T Aiton, of the Royal Gardens of Windsor. The young Gould started training as a gardener, being employed under his father at Windsor from 1818 to 1824, and he was subsequently a gardener at Ripley Castle in Yorkshire. He became an expert in the art of taxidermy, and in 1824 he set himself up in business in London as a taxidermist, and his skill led to him becoming the first Curator and Preserver at the museum of the Zoological Society of London in 1827. Gould's position brought him into contact with the country's leading naturalists, and also meant that he was often the first to see new collections of birds given to the Society. In 1830 a collection of birds arrived from the Himalayas, many not previously described. Gould published these birds in A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains (1830-1832). The text was by Nicholas Aylward Vigors, and the illustrations were lithographed by Gould's wife Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Coxen of Kent. This work was followed by four more in the next seven years including Birds of Europe in five volumes - completed in 1837, with the text written by Gould himself, edited by his clerk Edwin Prince. Some of the illustrations were made by Edward Lear as part of his Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae in 1832. Lear however was in financial difficulty, and he sold the entire set of lithographs to Gould. The books were published in a very large size, imperial folio, with magnificent coloured plates. Eventually 41 of these volumes were published with about 3000 plates. They appeared in parts at £3 3s. a number, subscribed for in advance, and in spite of the heavy expense of preparing the plates, Gould succeeded in making his ventures pay and in realizing a fortune. In 1838 he and his wife moved to Australia to work on the Birds of Australia and shortly after his return to England, his wife died in 1841. When Charles Darwin presented his mammal and bird specimens collected during the second voyage of HMS Beagle to the Geological Society of London at their meeting on 4 January 1837, the bird specimens were given to Gould for identification. He set aside his paying work and at the next meeting on 10 January reported that birds from the Galápagos Islands, which Darwin had thought were blackbirds, "gross-bills" and finches were in fact "a series of ground Finches which are so peculiar" as to form "an entirely new group, containing 12 species." This story made the newspapers. In March, Darwin met Gould again, learning that his Galápagos "wren" was another species of finch and the mockingbirds he had labeled by island were separate species rather than just varieties, with relatives on the South American mainland. Subsequently Gould advised that the smaller southern Rhea specimen that had been rescued from a Christmas dinner...

American 1870s Hudson River Antique Gilt Frame Antique Painting Frame Frame Size: Width: 22″ X Height: 25″ Thickness: 3.50″ Picture Size: Wi...

Print Sz: 11 1/2"H x 15"W Frame Sz: 17 1/4"H x 20 1/2"W Composed and drawn on stone by A. Fay Stylish gentlemen's private club interior scene featuring a grand bar c.1854

Car-Travelling In The South Of Ireland In The Year 1856. Bianconi's Establishment Print Sz: 10 7/8"H x 14"W Frame Sz: 19"H x 23"W Published 1856 by Ackermann & Co Engraver: John...

This very modern drawing presents a view of Ariccia, a small town 25 kilometres south-east of Rome. The Palazzo Chigi (in which the film-maker Luchino Visconti would film a large part of The Leopard a century later) and the adjoining church are seen from the bottom of the ravine that surrounds the town. This drawing is a moving testimony to the attraction of the city for artists of the Romantic period, who established in Ariccia a vivid artists' colony. 1. Achille Bénouville...

This vintage salt print is titled, attributed and annotated in lithographic ink on the front of the mount. Printed 1850s.

Edwin Long 1829 - 1891 Portrait Studies Graphite on paper Image size: 4 x 8 inches (10 x 20.5 cm) Framed Edwin Longsden Long RA (1829-1891, British) wa...

Watercolour depicting a castle tower signed & dated 1859 in a French mat & gilt frame Art Sz: 17"H x 12 3/8"W Frame Sz: 27 7/8"H x 23 3/8"W

Edmund Darch Lewis (1835-1910) Mount Washington, New Hampshire 50 x 58 inches, signed & dated 1859 Description The area near Mount Washington in New Hampshire was visited by many ...

Watercolour with bodycolour on card Titled 'Donn d'Albano' lower left and signed and inscribed 'Roma 1853' lower right Image size: 19 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches (50 x 34 cm) This is a full...

John William Hill (1812-1879) "Boston" 1857 Hand-Colored Engraving Site Size: 29 x 41 inches Framed Size: 39 x 52 inches Born in London, England, John William Hill came to America with his family at age 7. His father, John Hill, was a well-known landscape painter, engraver, and aquatintist. John William had a career of two phases, a city topographer-engraver and then, the leading pre-Rafaelite school painter in this country. Employed by the New York Geological Survey and then by Smith Brothers...