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View of Florence
The Cleveland Museum of Art

View of Florence

Description

Cole visited Italy in 1831 and made a small pencil sketch of this vista of Florence shortly before sunset. In his New York studio six years later, he transformed the drawing into this large oil painting, adding picturesque humans and goats to the foreground. Exhibiting View of Florence alongside a painting of the Catskill Mountains in New York in 1837, Cole set out to prove that he had mastered the very different landscapes of the Old and New Worlds.

Provenance

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio; (Victor Spark, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art); Francis Moro, New York, NY, sold to Victor Spark1; Private collector, New York, NY, sold to Francis Moro1; (Antique store, New York, NY, sold to a private collector)1; Henry James, Sr. [1811-1882], New York, NY1; Edward James, New York, NY, probably to his brother, Henry James, S1; Jonathan Mason, Boston1; Possibly Mr. Hunt, Boston1

Dimensions

99.5 × 160.4 cm

Accession No

1961.39

Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of Thomas Cole (American, born England,1801–1848)

American Painting and Sculpture • America • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries