Albany from Greenbush

John William Hill (1812-1879) Artist
1834 Date:
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Betts & Anstice, No 151 Pearl St. New York City Publisher
John Hill (1770-1850) Printer
Hand-colored aquatint Medium
15 5/8 H x 23 7/8 W Dimensions
Printed lower margin, center: Drawn by I.W. Hill, Engraved, Printed and Coloured by I. Hill. / ALBANY / From Greenbush / New York. Published 1 April 1834 by BETTS & ANSTICE No 151 Pearl St. Copy Right secured according to law Inscription
Bequest of Ledyard Cogswell, Jr. Credit
1954.59.200 Accession number
This print is an aquatint, in which areas of tone (rather than lines) are etched into a copperplate. The resulting print closely resembles a watercolor. One of the first American masters of this process was John Hill, and there was a ready market for landscape prints such as this view of Albany. This view is from a vantage point across the Hudson River in Greenbush (now part of Rensselaer). Just to the right of center is an imposing white building with a dome silhouetted against the sky—the newly erected city hall. To its left is St. Peter's Episcopal Church. To the right is the North Dutch Reformed Church with its two towers. Linking both halves of the composition is the Hudson River, alive with sailing vessels, as befits an increasingly bustling commercial city. Additional comments

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