Fanny F. Palmer (1812-1876) (after)
The Hudson Highlands. From the Peekskill and Cold Spring Road near Garrison's Landing
Currier & Ives, New York: 1857
Hand-colored lithograph
16.5 x 22.25 inches, image
20.25 x 26.5 inches, overall
25.75 x 32 inches, framed
$2,800
The Hudson Highlands Near Garrison's Landing
Currier & Ives, New York: 1857
Currier & Ives, New York: 1857
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Pastoral scene of New York State’s Hudson highlands. As is typical of Currier & Ives rural prints, the scene is picturesque and peaceful, with two cows resting in the shade at the side of the Peekskill and Cold Spring Road, a country lane. The road winds down a tree-covered hillside past a farmhouse and into a green valley. The Hudson River is glimpsed in the distance, flanked by rugged mountains rendered in the pale, muted colors typical of a hazy summer day. This is the first version of this subject published by Currier & Ives.
Frances Flora (Fanny) Palmer was a British-born American lithographer and draftswoman. In her capacity as one of Currier & Ives principal artists, "[i]t is likely that during the latter half of the nineteenth century more pictures by Mrs. Fanny Palmer decorated the homes of ordinary Americans than those of any other artist, dead or alive," wrote Ewell L. Newman, a Currier & Ives specialist. Palmer was taught drawing at a girls' school in her native Leicester, England, and later started a lithography business in 1841 with her husband, Edmund S. Palmer; she as the artist and he the printer. They emigrated to New York in 1844. Edmund descended into chronic alcoholism, and Fanny became the family breadwinner. In 1851, she was hired by Currier & Ives, where she produced close to 200 prints for the renowned firm, mainly rural landscapes. Many were of New York and Long Island, while others were pictures of places she had never seen, working from photographs. Her works are in the collections of many American museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the New York Historical Society and the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
The lithography firm of Currier & Ives was founded in 1834 by Nathaniel Currier as N. Currier, Lithographer, and based in New York. In 1852, he brought his brother-in-law, James Merritt Ives, into the business and renamed the firm Currier & Ives five years later. They were extremely prolific and highly successful, producing almost 7,500 different separately issued art prints through the 19th century until 1907, aptly advertising themselves as "Print-makers to the American People." Their prints were issued in either small, medium and large folio, though some particularly popular images were issued in more than one size. Dozens of American artists in the mid 19th century painted primarily for lithographic reproduction by Currier & Ives and other firms. To please a broad audience, the firm presented a warmly positive vision of America, frequently sentimental, and sometimes with a touch of humor. Currier & Ives prints generally portrayed the American landscape, scenery and landmarks, including the westward expansion, as well as daily life in both urban and rural settings. Their sporting and maritime subjects were particularly popular. These prints are now highly collectible as records of American history, as fine works of American art, and for their decorative appeal.
Full publication information: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1857, by Currier & Ives in the Clerk’s Office of the Dist’t. Court of the South’n Dist’t of N.Y. New York. Published by Currier & Ives, 152 Nassau St.
Condition: Generally good with the usual overall toning, wear. Some scattered light foxing, unobtrusive. Outer edges of margins lightly toned from rebate of frame, not visible as framed. Walnut or mahogany veneer frame with gilt bevel, probably original, with the usual overall wear, minor shrinkage separations at miters.
References:
Bonfante-Warren, Alexandra. Currier & Ives: Portraits of a Nation. New York: Friedman/Fairfax, 1998. pp. 9, 23-41.
Conningham, Frederic A. Currier and Ives Prints: An Illustrated Check List. New York: Crown, 1949. 2973.
DeWan, George. "The Picture of a Workhorse." LI History.com. http://www.lihistory.com/histpast/past1006.htm (14 May 2002).
"Frances (Fanny) Flora Palmer (neé Bond)." The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/06/0649/T064931.asp (14 May 2002).