New York from the Heights near Brooklyn

Painted as the pendant of “New York from Weehawk,” (54.90.109) this watercolor represents the eastern face of New York City from the former “Bergen’s Hill” in what is now Brooklyn Heights, looking west-northwest across the East River. In the two watercolors the artist not only opposed the points of view and the times of day of the two prospects but also introduced here the sublime effect of a departing storm. Consonant with it, a brittle conifer tree in the foreground serves as a counterpoint to the lyrical form of the deciduous tree in the companion picture. In both views, the artist projects an impression of youthful New York City as an abiding Utopia cradled in a vast riparian environment. Both watercolors were engraved as a pair by John Hill in 1823, just as Wall and Hill were collaborating on the better-known “Hudson River Portfolio” (1821–1825), a series of sixteen aquatints of picturesque views of the river from near Saratoga Springs to New York City.