Views from the Hudson
1845réf. 20343Clermont 1845. First Edition. Modern Half Morocco. Cloth over boards. Flaps within to contain plates. Montgomery Livingston. Scarce suite of Hudson River lithographic views with no copies listed on OCLC First Search. With no publisher's or printer's name given on any of the prints it is believed by art historian Kenneth W. Maddox who studied these prints and the career of Livingston that these prints were distributed exclusively among members of the wealthy and influential Livingston family and were not intended for commerce. However lest one think that the artist was a mere dilettante he approached his art career with total dedication and did have some success as a professional artist even if ultimately he was overshadowed by the flashier Hudson River School whose paintings were flashier but also frequently improving upon nature so to speak. N.d. but almost certainly the early1840s. Oblong folio 49.5 by 31.5 cm. Including the title page five lithographs of the Hudson River by Clermont the Livingston family homestead outside of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County New York State. Plus four pages or leaves the same size as the prints with blank versos of Maddox's overview of the prints and his chronology of Livingston's life his exhibition record etc. The artist grew up at Clermont and as an adult lived in another smaller house on the property until he was forced to sell because of financial troubles. Clermont still stands and it is today a house museum and while there has been much change along the river's banks the stretch of river in that area remains often scenic. As to the quaity of the lithographs they come as close as possible to passing as actual pencil drawings. Title page has numerous repaired closed tears and small chips -- the repair effectuated by mounting it onto another sheet. unknown books
