View of the Cataract of Niagara

View of the Cataract of Niagara
View of the Cataract of Niagara
View of the Cataract of Niagara
The Trustees of the British Museum
title=Credit line
Artist
William Byrne (1743-1805) after Wilson
Title
View of the Cataract of Niagara
Date
Published February 1774
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Metric: 451 x 530 mm
Imperial: 17 3/4 x 20 7/8 in.
Accession Number
1881,1112.200
Wilson Online Reference
E26A
Description
A broad waterfall, with turbulence filling the middleground and spray rising above the fall, seen across tree-covered banks in the foreground. Seven figures are admiring the view on the left.
Provenance
Purchased from Louis Bihn, 67 rue Richelieu, Paris, 1881
Signature/inscription
Lettered below the image with the title, incorporated into a dedication from Pierie to Lady Susan O'Brien, continuing 'This Stupendous Cataract, is near a Mile wide, and falls over a perpendicular Rock of 170 Feet high, which interrupts the Passage of the River Niagara for some miles, between the Lakes Erie and Ontario, on the Frontiers of the Province of New York in North America', the size of the painting and 'Richard Wilson pinxt. | From a Drawing taken on the Spot by Lt. Pierie of the Rl. Artillery, 1768. | William Byrne Sculpt. | Publish'd according to Act of Parliament, Feb. 1774, by the Author, and sold for him at Mr. Dodsley's, Pall Mall, and Mr. Knox's, in the Strand'.
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Related Paintings
P178 The Falls of Niagara, Wolverhampton Art Gallery
P178A Wilson and Studio, The Falls of Niagara, Tate, London
Bibliography
Edwards 1808, p. 88; WGC, p. 230, pl. 126b
Link to WG Constable Archive Record