View of the Cataract of Niagara, with the Country adjacent

View of the Cataract of Niagara, with the Country adjacent
View of the Cataract of Niagara, with the Country adjacent
View of the Cataract of Niagara, with the Country adjacent
The Trustees of the British Museum
title=Credit line
Artist
William Byrne (1743-1805) after Wilson
Title
View of the Cataract of Niagara, with the Country adjacent
Date
Published February 1774
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
Metric: 462 x 546 mm
Imperial: 18 3/16 x 21 1/2 in.
Accession Number
1917,1208.4301
Wilson Online Reference
E26
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
1917 donated by Nan Ino Cooper, Baroness Lucas of Crudwell and Lady Dingwall (1880-1958) of Wrest Park, Bedfordshire among 4651 prints and drawings given to the British Museum in memory of her brother, Auberon Thomas Herbert, 9th Baron Lucas (1876-1916).
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
Booth Notes Doc. 6; Booth Notes Doc. 7; Edwards 1808, p. 88; WGC, p. 230, pl. 126b
Link to WG Constable Archive Record