This loose or bound set of twenty views of the Hudson River were originally painted by the Irish watercolorist William Guy Wall. They were later published as aquatints by Henry Megary in New York in the early 1820s. John Hill was the principal engraver. These colorful views were some of the earliest images of the Hudson River to be presented as art and were widely popular.

This monumental work presents views along two hundred plus miles of the Hudson River, descending from Lake Luzerne in the foothills of the Adirondacks, to New York City. Enhanced by John Agg's text, the prints are considered amongst the finest produced in 19th-century America. In the summer of 1820, William Guy Wall traveled down the Hudson to sketch potential subjects, then made watercolors to be engraved.

John Rubens Smith was hired to produce the related aquatints, but soon was replaced by John Hill (both men had moved to the United States from London, with Hill proving the more skilled and experienced). Between 1821 and 1825, Hill reworked four plates begun by Smith, then produced sixteen more. After the prints were hand-colored, subscribers received them in sets of four (irregular numbering resulted as twenty-four planned subjects were reduced to twenty during publication; and the numbering was adjusted in the second edition of 1828).

No title page. 20 prints ; 36.8 x 54.3 cm.

References:

Deak 320/321.


0. Hudson River Portfolio (c. 1820) - Display
1. Little Falls at Luzerne
10. Troy from Mount Ida
11. Hudson
12. Newburg
13. View from Fishkill looking to West Point
14. View near Hudson
15. West Point
16. View near Fishkill
17. Palisades
18. New York, from Governors Island
19. View near Fort Montgomery
2. The junction of the Sacandaga and Hudson Rivers
20. Rapids above Hadleys Falls
3. View near Jessups Landing
4. Hadley's Falls
5. Glenns Falls
6. View near Sandy Hill
7. Baker's Falls
8. View near Fort Miller
9. Fort Edward