Victor de Grailly (1804-1889) Lived/Active: France, probably New York

View from Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts
Unsigned, ca. 1840-1845
Oil on canvas
17” x 23 ¼”, 22 ¼” x 28 ½” (frame)
Minor imperfections and wear commensurate with age. Examined under ultra-violet light (see images).
Victor de Grailly’s View from Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts (and the Oxbow, Connecticut River) is a fascinating panoramic view of this scenic stretch of the Connecticut River from Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts. He based this picture fairly closely upon an engraving of a watercolor drawing by an English painter named William Henry Bartlett (1809-1854). Working from this black and white image (first published in a two-volume book entitled American Scenery in 1840), de Grailly imaginatively reinterpreted it in this engaging and delicately painted landscape scene.
De Grailly was an academically trained artist whose style of idealized naturalism is seen here in this example, displaying the prominent contrasts of near and far that animate the scene and engage our attention.

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