Skating on the Wissahickon
Although skating scenes were popular with Dutch and Flemish genre painters of the late sixteenth century and after, they did not catch on in this country until the mid-nineteenth century. They were among Culverhouse's favorite themes. His most accomplished scene in this genre depicts skating in Central Park, New York, and was executed in 1865 (Museum of the City of New York). Ten years later, he painted this Philadelphia skating scene. First called "Skating on the Schuylkill" when offered for sale in New York in 1942, it was later renamed "Skating on the Wissahickon." Wissahickon Creek flows through Philadelphia to the Schuylkill River; the Wissahickon Valley is a popular recreational area.
Artwork Details
- Title: Skating on the Wissahickon
- Artist: Johan Mengels Culverhouse (1820–ca. 1891)
- Date: 1875
- Culture: American
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 24 x 37 1/2 in. (61 x 95.3 cm)
- Credit Line: Purchase, Rogers, Morris K. Jesup and Maria DeWitt Jesup Funds, and Charles and Anita Blatt Gift, 1974
- Object Number: 1974.263
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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