John William Hill (1812-1879)
Date:
1834
Printer:
John Hill (1770-1850)
Publisher / Location:
Betts & Anstice, No 151 Pearl St. New York City
Medium:
Hand-colored aquatint
Dimensions:
15 5/8 H x 23 7/8 W
Inscription:
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
Credit:
Bequest of Ledyard Cogswell, Jr.
Accession Number:
1954.59.200
Comments:
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.
