Artist unknown, c. 1823. Oil on canvas, unsigned.

The Fairmount Waterworks in Philadelphia was a popular subject with artists, especially those associated with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Thomas Birch, Thomas Doughty, Thomas Moran, and James Peale, Jr. all contributed to the array of artwork available from a variety of vantage points.

Construction of the Waterworks began in 1812 on the east bank of the Schuylkill River. Work on the dam, which provided a spillway into the pump house, completed in 1822. Thomas Doughty completed a painting with a similar view as this painting in 1826. We believe this painting pre-dates the Doughty by several years. This painting depicts small, newly planted trees fronting the shoreline to Lemon Hill Mansion. In Doughty’s painting, the mature trees completely block the Mansion indicating a later date by several years.

Dimensions: 25 ¼" H x 33" W (frame)

Condition: Excellent

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From the Hudson River School Naive tradition, this river scene depicts the Old Croton Aqueduct High Bridge, ca 1850, shortly after completion. The famous bridge, 114 ft tall, spans the Harlem River in New York City. The original bridge consisted of fifteen stone arches. The center portion was replaced by steel in 1927 and is still in use today. From a Rockport, Maine home.

Excellent condition with minimal craquelature, stable surface and good varnish.

Dimensions: 24"h x 30"w (painting).

Striking watercolor of raspberries created with stencil and freehand painting. New England, c. 1840-1860.

Mounted in a silver gilt frame of the same period.

Dimensions: 8 1/4" x 11" (frame).

Attributed to Joseph Hidley, this naive landscape depicts a serene view of a river. The salmon luminous sky, pair of figures in the center, house, bystander all contribute to the attribution.

According to Warren Broderick, a Rensselaer County, NY historian, author and expert on Joseph Hidley: "It's a Hidley. An early one (1850s). It's one of his pastoral landscapes that was probably meant to depict an imaginary American landscape, seeing that it has no castles or chalets in it as a European scene of his would have."

Dimensions: 18"x24"(painting).