Waterfall in the Woods with Indians, 1850

Provenance
Fanya Worth, Miami, Florida
By descent of the above
Kennedy Galleries, New York, New York, 1973, acquired from above
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, acquired from above
Sale, Christie’s, New York, New York, December 4, 2003, lot 17, from above
Private collection
Sale, Christie’s, New York, New York, January 23, 2025, lot 311, from above

Exhibited
Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, Texas, American Landscape Painting: 1850–1900, September 7–
October 17, 1974
Worcester Art Museu, Massachusetts, West Comes East: Frontier Painting and Sculpture from the Amon Carter
Museum, April 25–June 24, 1979

Literature
Kenneth Myers, The Catskills: Painters, Writers and Tourists in the Mountains, 1820-1895(New Hampshire:
University Press of New England Hanover and London, 1987), 72, Fig.16.
Jane Simon, “Sanford R. Gifford’s Kaaterskill Falls: A Place of Intimate Immensity,” Bulletin of the Detroit
Institute of Arts, vol. 67, no. 4, 1993, 6, 9, fig. 7.
Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003), 203, footnote no.6.
O. J. Victor, “Character in Scenery,” Cosmopolitan Art Journal, vol. 3, no. 1, December, 1858, 11
A Landscape Book, By American Artists and American Authors. Sixteen Engravings on Steel, from Paintings by Cole,
Church, Cropsey, Durand, Gignoux, Kensett, Miller, Richards, Smillie, Talbot, Weir (New York: G. Pm
Putnam, 1868), illustrated

Related Works
Along the Hudson, 1852, oil on canvas, 18 ⅛ x 24 inches; Smithsonian American Art Museum,
Washington, DC
Cascade in the Forest, 1852, oil on canvas, 29 ½ x 26 inches; Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan

Note: In the mid-19th century, Hudson River School master John Frederick Kensett, like his
contemporaries, was passionate about depicting the natural landscapes of America. He was dedicated
to faithfully capturing their details, conveying a sense of tranquility and harmony, while also expressing
his deep affection and admiration for the country’s magnificent scenery. In this painting, Kensett focuses
particularly on the interior of the forest. He chooses a serene and intimate space beneath a waterfall in
the Catskill Mountains and includes a group of Indigenous Americans in the composition, creating a
nostalgic atmosphere that presents the waterfall as an untouched wilderness, free from the
encroachment of white civilization.