Cold Spring, New York, from the Hudson
Signed lower left: W. Whittredge / 1862
Description
“Mr. Whittredge is poetical in his treatment of subjects. He loves repose and a wide diffusion of light. In color he is tender and harmonious.”
– “Worthington Whittredge” The Aldine, 1879
Dated 1862, Cold Spring, New York, from the Hudson captures a view of Bull Hill (Mt. Taurus), with Breakneck Ridge just behind, from a vantage point close to what is today known as Dockside Park in Cold Spring. The painting offers an open view of the mountains and the sweeping horizon beyond. There are wonderful details for the viewer to absorb, such as the delicate sunlit branches and leaves of the bending tree at left and the elements of humankind shown in the diminutive figures along the shore and the pair emerging from the dense forest, but the artist appears equally focused on transcribing the topography of the ridges and showing their impressive height in comparison to the village nestled below. The entire scene is rendered with a balanced palette and enveloped by a warm glow – qualities that came to define Whittredge’s work.
Provenance
Inscriptions
Labels
Old handwritten label on left stretcher: 24
Exhibitions
Literature
Condition
Very good. The painting is unlined and was recently cleaned. There are brushy spots of in-paint in the sky, mostly relegated to the left part, as the sky was thin and may have been overcleaned a little by a previous conservation campaign. There is a small spot and minor dots of in-paint in the right and center mountains, some short very thin lines in the water along the shoreline and at center, a small spot in the center foreground trees and a small T-shaped spot in the distant trees, and some very minor specks and short dashes along the lower edge.
