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Exquisite Original Hudson River Valley Landscape Drawings and Watercolors by a Woman

A finely-bound 19th-century album containing 69 very beautiful original drawings, including 61 in pencil and 8 in watercolor, mostly depicting picturesque sites located in New York State, including Hudson River, Adirondacks, Queens, and the like.

The drawings, varying in size, are mounted on the album pages and presented within a neat hand-drawn double borders; most are signed and have handwritten captions in black pencil at the bottom. They depict wooded or mountainous landscapes, waterways with small boats, forests, waterfalls, wooden or stone bridges, villages, houses, gardens, parks, etc. Several include people, likely family members of the artist, engaged in various leisure activites: boating, resting beneath trees near a river or reading a book. The volume also contains a few animal drawings (eagle, duck, deer, and the like), portraits of young women, and three genre scenes showing characters in late Middle Ages costumes.

The places depicted are almost all located in the State of New York. Several are in the Adirondack Mountains in the northeast of the state: Raquette Lake (near Long Lake); Blue Mountain Lake (near Indian Lake); Lower Falls, Upper Falls (Beaver River) and Lyonsdale. Others are located between Albany and New York: Catskill Mountain (Catskill Mountains, on the right bank of the Hudson), or on the Hudson River: Newburgh (north of West Point). Other sites are in New York City: High Bridge, Whitestone Point, College Point, East River, Harlem River, Ravenswood, etc. Many drawings are dated July and August, without specifying the year, except for a few dated 1860 or 1866 (the latter date appears on the binding).

There is also a drawing dated 1859 of Lake Brienz in the Canton of Bern (Switzerland), evidence of a trip to Europe.

Most of the drawings have neat pencil captions. Most signed J. Major, one is signed "Jane Major."

1. North West Hills, Raquette Lake
2. Raquette Lake. Signed Jane Major
3. Raquette Lake. Signed J.M.
4. Blue Mountain Lake. Signed J. Major in right-hand corner
5. Blue Mountain. Signed J. Major
6. Untitled lake or river scene with bearded man in row boat, surrounded by lush foliage and trees
7. View from the Cupula, the Pavillion House, Newburgh. Signed J. Major
8. View from Mr. Ball's place, July 27, Newburgh
9. Newburgh, woman on a rustic bridge over a stream. July 28. Signed J.M.
10. View from Mama's window, Pavillion House
11. Aug. from the bay. West Point from Newburgh. Signed J.M. The words "Lovely Day," though erased, can still be discerned
12. View on the Catskills. Signed J. Major
13. Catskill Mountains, Aug. 25. Signed J. Major
14. Uncaptioned river and and waterfall scene
15. Catskill Mountain Road. Signed J.M.
16. Uncaptioned scene of fallen trees
17. Lower Falls, Beaver River, Aug. 15. A man and a woman in the scene (identified as J.C. and L.D.). Signed J.M.
18. Upper Falls, Beaver River. Signed J.M.
19. Lyonsdale, Aug. 24. Tall trees and river. Six figures (men and woman, identified as H.G., J.C., Mr. C., J.B., M.L. and M.M.)
20. Above the Rapids, Aug. 12. Several people in the scene, some watercolor. Signed J. Major
21. Beaver River, Aug. 14. Four people in row boat (W.C., H.B., Mr. M, J.D.)
22. Beaver River Falls. Aug. Signed J.M.
23. From Hazelwood. High Bridge. Signed J. Major
24. De Ruyter's Point, Whitestone Point. From Slate's Dock. July 17, 1860. Sailboats. Signed Jane Major
25. Chisholm, College Point, Slate's dock. July 17, 1860. Sailboats. Signed J.M.
26. East River. Sailboat. July 1860. Signed J. Major
27. Long-beaked wading bird among the rushes. Signed J. Major
28. Sugar River. Signed Jane Major
29. College Point. Signed J. Major
30. Lyonsdale. Signed J.M.
31. Harlem River, Aug. 13th. Signed J. Major
32. Mud hen or American coot. Signed J. Major
33. Untitled view of trees in condensed impressionistic landscape. Some highlights in white
34. Aug. 13, South Gulch. Large, nearly full page. Water coursing through tree-filled landscape
35. Untitled night view of moonlight reflecting on water. Circular sheet
36. Untitled vista of river and trees, hills in the distance
37. Ravenswood. Scene looking toward East River from Ravenswood resort in Queens. July. Signed J.M.
38. Untitled view of farmhouse
39. The Old Pine Tree. Signed J. Major
40. Lake of Brientz & the Giesback Cascade
41. Rock Island night view, July 27
42. Rock Island night view [different perspective], July 27
43. Gothic revival country house in winter. Signed J. Major
44. Craig [Oiaen?], Jan. 23rd '66. Signed J.M.
45. In Queenstown Harbour- On board "Helvetia" Friday morning March 16th /66. Signed J. Major
46. Untitled view of river with sailboat, trees and hills
47. Untitled landscape of trees and hills
48. Untitled watercolor of trees.
49. Untitled pencil sketch portrait woman. Signed J. Major
50. Virginia. Pencil sketch full standing portrait of a woman
51. Untitled pencil sketch of woman in Elizabethan dress. Signed J. Major
52. Untitled pencil drawing of four men in Middle Ages in front of a castle. Signed J. Major, AM
53. Untitled pencil drawing of two deer
54. Untitled sketch portrait of a young man in uniform. Signed J.M.
55. Untitled watercolor of house overlooking river, hills in distance
56. Untitled watercolor of wooden Gothic Revival church
57. Untitled view of man and woman in boat, deer on shore. Signed J.M.
58. Seven people resting on shore, with two addition people in row boat. Signed J.M.
59. Untitled pencil drawing of a scene from the Middle Ages, two lovers and an old man.
60. The Lammergeyer [bearded vulture] March 1860. Signed J. Major
61. Untitled guache watercolor of a large pine tree
62. [Chisholm Down?] View of country homes among trees. Signed J. Major
63. Untitled view of two people in a row boat, trees on shore
64. Kensington Garden. Signed J.M.
65. Untitled view, also Kensington Garden
66. The Imperial Eagle. March 1860. Signed J. Major
67. Untitled drawing of an elk. Signed J. Major
68. Untitled pencil drawing of Middle Ages, a prince receiving a crown. Signed J.M.
69. Mountain Dale. Watercolor. Signed J.M.

While we could not find any artist named Jane Major in standard references, given the New York-centric subjects and the date range of the drawings, we believe the artist may have been Jane Major, the wife of New York lithographer James P. Major, some time partner of the flamboyant Napoleon Sarony, of the eponymous firm of Sarony & Major.

Context of Hudson River School

Jane Major's work, clearly a highly accomplished artist, can be seen in light of this renewed interest in women artists working in New York State during the mid 19th-century. Though not a documented member of the Hudson River School, Jane Major created the present original art at roughly the same time and place as the famous Hudson River School artists. Women artists associated with the Hudson River School, such as Eliza Pratt Greatorex, Susie M. Barstow, Julie Hart Beers, and Harriet Cany Peale, contributed significantly to the landscape painting movement in the 19th century. These women shared a deep appreciation for nature, often focusing on the sublime and tranquil beauty of the American wilderness, mirroring their male counterparts in style and subject matter. Despite their talent and active participation, these women were historically overlooked due to prevailing gender biases in the art world.

On the first endpaper is a small drawing with the motto "Fidus ad extremum" (faithful to the end). This motto was borne by three British families: Chatfield, Leith, and Spafford. The crest with a dog is also recorded as part of a coat of arms for the Major family.

The artwork is apparently unpublished.