Catskill Mountain House

Provenance

Private collection, New York, New York

Sale, Eldred’s, East Dennis, Massachusetts, July 29, 2021, lot 1501, from above

Note

The popularity of the Catskill Mountain House, depicted at the center horizon line of this composition, was expanded greatly by stagecoach line owner Charles L. Beach, who assumed control of the Mountain House in 1839 and full ownership in 1846. At that time, he began renovations on the hotel and created more hiking trails on the surrounding North and South Mountain terrain (which he also owned), which attracted visitors and artists. Beach also published a guidebook to the Mountain House and the area around it, with excerpts from poet William Cullen Bryant and from several travel writers of the era._[1] Unsurprisingly, the locale became a popular, and awe-inspiring destination. The tourist culture also helped to generate patrons for the Hudson River School artists._[2]

_[1] Kevin J. Avery and Franklin Kelly, eds., Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003), 31.
_[2] Kevin J. Avery, Sanford R. Gifford: In the Catskills (Catskill, NY: Thomas Cole National Historic Site, 2017), 19.