“Niagara” was exhibited at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris, where it won a silver medal and improved the European view of American art. “more widely known and admired in this country than any other picture ever painted in America.” Over a thousand subscriptions to a planned chromolithograph were sold. Some would spend an hour in front of the painting. In 1857, tens of thousands paid 25 cents to view the painting in a darkened Manhattan gallery in which only the painting was illuminated. In an era of spiritual optimism and manifest destiny, Americans perceived such a vivid Niagara painting as symbolic of their density and righteousness. In the 1850s, Niagara was the subject of millions of stereographs, and its image could be found on wallpaper, china, and lampshades, among many other items.Īt that time for Americans, the Falls symbolized the grandeur and expansionism of the United States. Niagara Falls is famous for its beauty and was regularly painted, attracting landscape artists. Water from the Great Lakes carved a path over and through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America and was formed when glaciers receded at the end of the last ice age. The Falls are located on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario. The smaller American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, also known as Canadian Falls, which straddles the two countries’ border. Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between Canada and the United States. Horseshoe Falls, Niagara, 1856–57, 29.2 × 90.5 cm Niagara Falls in Art “Niagara” was Church’s most important work to date and cemented his reputation as an American landscape painter.Ī study for the painting. By that time, there were many copies of this popular painting that existed in engraving and chromolithography. Painted in 1857, this massive painting had accumulated some damage over time, requiring Church to repaint some of it in 1886. He used a “draft” upon which he tested his ideas and techniques and the final canvas. The painting itself took about six weeks to complete.Ĭhurch used two similar canvases simultaneously.

The light creates a partial rainbow beyond the precipice, where the mist is thick. On the horizon are several buildings that provide scale and distance to this a highly realistic rendering.Ĭhurch studied the falls extensively before capturing the effects of mist and turbulent water, and he made dozens of pencil and oil studies. The white foam near the trunk has a thicket paint dimension on an otherwise smooth canvas.

The only foreground object is a floating tree trunk with tree roots that provide a sense of scale. “Niagara” is highly naturalistic and brings the viewer to the falls’ lip, highlighting the cascading waters by painting in streams of water and cloudy mists. The canvas’s unusual proportions w ith a width of 2.3 meters (7 ft 7 in), makes it more than twice as wide as it is high and delivers a composition that leads the eye laterally.

This panoramic view from the Niagara Falls’ Canadian side is dramatic and unique and immerses the viewer into the scene. “Niagara” by Frederic Edwin Church depicts Horseshoe Falls, the largest and most iconic of Niagara’s three waterfalls.

Frederic edwin church