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Buck Mountain sits on the east side of Lake George, at the base of the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. Nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, Lake George became a popular site for many Hudson River School painters, including Johnson’s mentor, Kensett. David Johnson painted numerous depictions of the serene topography from various vantage points. Not only did the location offer majestic views, but it also held historical importance, as it was the site of several military campaigns during the French and Indian War.
Exhibition History“Nature Transcribed: The Landscapes and Still Lifes of David Johnson (1827-1908),” Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, NY, November 5–December 23, 1988; University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, MD, February 1–March 5, 1989; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA, April 1–May 7, 1989; National Academy of Design, New York, NY, July 10–September 10, 1989
“Hudson River School Days,” Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, NY, November 18, 1992–January 9, 1993
ProvenanceKnoedler & Co., New York, New York
Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, New York
Private collection, Toronto, Canada, acquired from above, 1988
Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, New York, January 18, 2023, lot 49, from above
Artist
David Johnson
(American, 1827 - 1908)
Buck Mountain, Lake George
Date1872
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 14 3/8 × 24 5/16 in. (36.5 × 61.8 cm)
Object numberN0012.2024(04)
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextAs a second-generation member of the Hudson River School, David Johnson experienced artistic success during the second half of the nineteenth century. The style of his rocky landscape scenes tended to coincide with whatever genre the current art market dictated as on trend, with his later works demonstrating a distinctly luminist influence. Johnson was essentially a self-taught artist up until 1845, but at the age of eighteen, he opted to enroll at the National Academy of Design. Under the instruction of mentors including John Frederick Kensett and Jasper Francis Cropsey, he began to paint landscapes of his native New York with a level of skill which enabled him to ride on the coattails of their success.Buck Mountain sits on the east side of Lake George, at the base of the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. Nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, Lake George became a popular site for many Hudson River School painters, including Johnson’s mentor, Kensett. David Johnson painted numerous depictions of the serene topography from various vantage points. Not only did the location offer majestic views, but it also held historical importance, as it was the site of several military campaigns during the French and Indian War.
Exhibition History“Nature Transcribed: The Landscapes and Still Lifes of David Johnson (1827-1908),” Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, NY, November 5–December 23, 1988; University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, MD, February 1–March 5, 1989; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA, April 1–May 7, 1989; National Academy of Design, New York, NY, July 10–September 10, 1989
“Hudson River School Days,” Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, NY, November 18, 1992–January 9, 1993
ProvenanceKnoedler & Co., New York, New York
Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, New York
Private collection, Toronto, Canada, acquired from above, 1988
Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, New York, January 18, 2023, lot 49, from above
On View
On view
