David Johnson 1827 - 1908

Private Collection, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, circa 1900
Plaza Art Galleries, Inc., New York, circa 1950
Collection of Elizabeth and Robert Sincerbeaux, Woodstock, Vermont, circa 1954 (probably acquired from the above)
By descent in the family to the present owners

Ithaca, New York, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University; College Park, Maryland, The Art Gallery, University of Maryland; Athens, Georgia, Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; New York, National Academy of Design, Nature Transcribed: The Landscapes and Still Lifes of David Johnson (1827-1908), November 1988-September 1989, no. 22, pp. 34-35, illustrated p. 38

The following condition report has been prepared by Simon Parkes Art Conservation: This painting is in spectacular condition. It has a very old glue lining that is nicely stabilizing the surface, and the stretcher has been changed. There are only retouches of any note in the upper right, where a few small spots in the edges and a couple in the sky have been added. Elsewhere, there are no retouches. There are patches of old varnish that remain on the surface, but they do not seem to be altering the palette of the work. The palette seen today almost exactly mirrors the palette and colors that Johnson had intended. There is a small area in the sky above the tall tree where the surface is slightly uneven. The painting is conspicuously un-abraded and unstained. This is an unusually well preserved painting.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

View from New Windsor, Hudson River is one of three large-scale panoramic views of the Hudson River David Johnson painted between 1867 and 1870. These paintings, the largest in his oeuvre, are characterized by their realism, meticulously painted surfaces, expansive views and luminist palette. Situated on the western bank of the Hudson River, the town of New Windsor was founded in 1762. It would serve as a major depot for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, before becoming popular with artists of the Hudson River School. Painted from an elevated vantage point, most likely Butterhill Park, View from New Windsor, Hudson River looks south towards "Wey-Gat" or Wind Gate, often referred to as the northern entrance to the Hudson Highlands. The distant landfall to the right is Storm King Mountain, which rises more than 1,300 feet above the river at its highest point, and to the left Breakneck Ridge. The body of water in the middle ground is likely Moodna Creek. A meticulous observer of nature, Johnson emphasized the actual physical attributes of the landscape rather than altering it in his studio for heightened dramatic effect.

Gwendolyn Owens writes: "The 1860s were a productive period for the artist; in addition to the New Hampshire and Maine vistas and tree studies, Johnson explored New York state sites in both large and small canvases. Two of the largest paintings in his oeuvre, View from New Windsor, Hudson River (cat. no. 22) and Hudson River from Fort Montgomery (cat. no. 24) are dated 1869 and 1870, respectively. But the difference in the scale of these paintings did not lead the artist to develop a wholly different type of pictorial composition; looking at just a photograph of either of these paintings, or of a third large Hudson view, West Point from Fort Putnam (1867), one notes immediately the obvious similarities to the basic form of the smaller-scaled New Hampshire views. Unlike the larger landscapes of Cropsey, Church, or Cole, Johnson's paintings on a grand scale do not center upon the theatrical spectacle of sublime sunsets, waterfalls, cloud effects, high mountains or other unusual phenomena. They are simply larger versions of the pastoral landscapes one sees in his smaller works. This makes Johnson's task in many ways more difficult than that of his contemporaries; his problem was to present a view of a calm, peaceful river valley in such a way that it will nonetheless still attract the viewer's active eye: sheep to count, stone walls to follow, people walking on paths, a train discernable in the distance, and overall an attractive patchwork pattern of trees and pastureland. These are not the type of paintings for which the public would buy tickets, gasping as the work was first dramatically revealed from behind its curtain. These works offer slow, leisurely enjoyment, rather than a sudden thrill; the light and color here are subdued, not ecstatically heightened; these versions are anchored by the strong horizontal of rounded background mountains, rather than rising with craggy, misty peaks into infinite space" (Nature Transcribed: The Landscapes and Still Lifes of David Johnson, pp. 34-35).