Annapolis: A View from the Statehouse in 1860

Annapolis seems to have had the good fortune to have survived the American trait of tearing down the old and building new. Very little has changed since sailing vessels transported its people and goods up and down along the coast of the Chesapeake Bay and beyond. The Statehouse stands on a hill as a sentinel, surrounded by buildings of lesser scale, much as St. Paul’s Cathedral in London did until high rise buildings were allowed to compete after World War Two and spoil its grand preeminence.
The architectural elegance of the Statehouse dome and tower had attracted my attention when I first visited the city in 1976, and I determined that should I ever paint Annapolis it would be over the rooftops with the Statehouse proudly dominating the scene. Having tried several times in vain to enlist the help of city authorities to get permission to get up on adjoining rooftops, I finally had to resort to the use of a helicopter so that I could verify the positioning of the Statehouse relative to the street going down to the harbor. What resulted was a view across Dickensian-looking rooftops with the harbor in the middle distance.
The Naval Academy could not be featured, as it was well away from the harbor and would have divided the attention away from the little port where trading vessels and bay packets (the buses of the day) called to pickup or discharge their cargoes. This painting in particular demanded close attention to perspective, as the drawing in of the buildings would be the key to getting the feeling of being on a hill. I recall moving the Statehouse tower eight to ten times before I was satisfied with its positioning relative to the rest of the composition. This involved studiously scraping down dark areas of paint to the canvas ground in order that there was no area where light paint was applied over dark, which would cause the dark areas covered to finally bleed through as the whites grew translucent over time.

The most celebrated view of Annapolis ever, John Stobart’s 1984 view over the rooftops is one of his most popular and hard-to-find prints. This now-rare print sold out a short time after it was issued, and now is available only on the secondary market.

"Annapolis, 1860"

Framed Lithograph          17 1/2 " x 33 "          $2995

"NEW YORK: The Blackball Packets seen beyond the Fulton Fish Market in 1865"

12" x 18" Print Issued:1998 $400

A moonlit evening as latecomers transact their business with the one market fishmonger still open.

"PITTSBURGH: Moonlight over the Monongahela in 1885" (RARE)

19" x 32" Print Issued:1984 $1,500

The GENEVA is seen here at the Smithfield Street Landing at the conclusion of an excursion, unloading her merry-makers who, aided by the boat's searchlight, pick their way "up the hill" toward the Monongahela House to catch trolley cars at the corner of Smithfield and Water.

"PITTSBURGH: Water Street by Gaslight in 1899" (RARE)

14" x 20" Print Issued:1993 $800

Within this view the Richardsonian Court House appears to the left, with Duquesne University tower on the bluff, center right. Below this, at the further end of Water Street is the Monongahela House Hotel and to the extreme right is the terminal of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad beside the threshold of the Smithfield Street Bridge.

"BOSTON Departure: Securing the Towline, c. 1885"

18 3/4" x 28 1/2" Print Issued: 2004 Framed $1125

It is late evening on Boston Harbor at the zenith of the Clipper Era. A few well wishers and family members have remained at the wharf to witmess the event as the ship leaves the pier in the custody of pilot and tugs.

"CHATTANOOGA: Unloading Flatboats on the banks of the Tennessee River in 1848"

20" x 31" Print Issued: 1992 $500

The craft in this view would have been built on the riverbanks of East Tennessee and loaded with produce such as corn, wheat, potatoes, preserved meat in barrels, whiskey and sometimes even coal. At certain times of the year flatboats could drift over the navigational hazards all the way to New Orleans where markets would be larger and readier.

"CINCINNATI: Moonlight on the Ohio from the Public Landing in 1880" (RARE)

19" x 31" Print Issued:1982 $3,500

This view of the Cincinnati's public landing by moonlight is based on the dominance of the suspension bridge and the activity at night on the busy waterfront. The entire public landing section with all its waterfront buildings has now been razed and replaced by Riverfront Stadium.

"LONDON: Sunset Over the Thames in 1895"

14" x 20" Print Issued: 2005 $400.00

This scene is looking west just below Tower Bridge, its bascules are raised to allow passage of the new arrival into the Pool of London. Beyond, London Bridge marks the head of navigation for deep water ships.

"LOUISVILLE: The People's Line Packet "Wild Wagoner" arriving at the Levee in 1868"

18" x 29" Print Issued: 1993 $450.00

My painting shows the young city's Riverfront in 1868 at 2nd Street and the mouth of Beargrass Creek. The arriving Cincinnati and Louisville packet WILD WAGONER edges towards the Peoples Line wharf boat in mid-morning as people along Water Street go about their daily business.

"NATCHEZ: The "Rob't E. Lee" arriving at the "Unde r-the-Hill" in 1882" (RARE)

19" x 31" Print Issued: 1982 $3,000

Beginning around 1796, Natchez enjoyed a so-called Golden Age when "cotton was king". The colorful parade of steamboats arrived around 1819 to give Natchez an important position in the Mississippi river trade.

"NEW YORK: East River Arrival, c. 1884"

19" x 28½" Print Issued: 2007
Edition of 950/35 Remarqued, Signed and Numbered $750

"RICHMOND: A View of the City from the Banks of the James River in 1858"

20 ½" x 32" Print Issued:1996 $500

In this scene a packet brig arrives with immigrants at a dock just below Rockett's Landing. The paddle tug boat is about to cast off the towline prior to nudging the vessel to her berth.

"U.S.S. Constitution" (RARE)

21" x 28" Print Issued:1985 Framed $1900

Created from the best of the country's national resources and launched from a Boston shipyard in 1797, U.S.S. CONSTITUTION is a truly national ship and is still a commissioned vessel in the U.S. Navy.

"View over the Westport River" (RARE)

8 1/2" x 12 1/2" Print Issued: 1994 $350

This view of the river was gleaned from an idyllic spot within the property of the Westport Yacht Club on the Horseneck Beach peninsular, overlooking the wide tidal reaches of the Westport River to the north.