Washington Allston
Landscape
1809
Scroll
Washington Allston
Landscape
1809
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Framed: 36 x 40 3/4 x 4 3/4 in. (91.4 x 103.5 x 12.1 cm) Sight: 25 1/4 x 30 in. (64.1 x 76.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. William Bliss
Object Number
1952.109
Landscapes with waterfalls proved popular subjects for American artists living in Italy. Like the two men fishing in the foreground of Washington Allston’s canvas, expatriates angled for inspiration at famed sites such as the magnificent falls of Tivoli Gardens and the Marmore Falls, created by ancient Romans near Terni. Romantic new canvases, modeled on Old Master painting styles, found ready buyers among residents of the foreign colony in Rome. While traveling in Europe between 1804 and 1806, Allston sketched a picturesque Alpine view in pencil. He took the drawing back to Boston, where he completed this finished canvas in 1810.
Isaac P. Davis, Boston; Mrs. George Bancroft; William A. J. Bliss, Baltimore, by 1902; Mrs. William A. J. Bliss, Baltimore.
Harding’s Gallery, Boston, "Exhibition of Pictures Painted by Washington Allston," Apr. I-July 10, 1839, no. 36 (owned by Issac P. David).
Fifth Regiment Armory, Baltimore, Art Loan Exhibition, "Under the Auspices of The Municipal Art Society," Mar 3-29, 1902, p. 25, no. 118 (owned by William A. J. Bliss).
"Washington Allston (1779-1843): A Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Memorabilia." The Detroit Institute of Arts (May-June, 1947), MFA Boston (July-August, 1947)
William H. Gerdts and Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., MFA, Boston, “A Man of Genius,” The Art of Washington Allston (1779-1843), Dec. 12, 1979-Feb. 3, 1980, pp. 47-48, 179, 214, no. 13, ill. (circulated to PAFA, Philadelphia).
Fifth Regiment Armory, Baltimore, Art Loan Exhibition, "Under the Auspices of The Municipal Art Society," Mar 3-29, 1902, p. 25, no. 118 (owned by William A. J. Bliss).
"Washington Allston (1779-1843): A Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Memorabilia." The Detroit Institute of Arts (May-June, 1947), MFA Boston (July-August, 1947)
William H. Gerdts and Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., MFA, Boston, “A Man of Genius,” The Art of Washington Allston (1779-1843), Dec. 12, 1979-Feb. 3, 1980, pp. 47-48, 179, 214, no. 13, ill. (circulated to PAFA, Philadelphia).
Johnston, Sona. K. "American Paintings, 1750-1900, from the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art." Baltimore, MD: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1983, pp. 18, ill.
Inscribed: on reverse u.l., W. Allston pinxit
On View at the BMA
