View Near Fort Montgomery (No. 22 (later changed to No. 18) of The Hudson River Portfolio)

Fort Montgomery sits on the west bank of the Hudson south of West Point and, to be positioned correctly in the Portfolio, should follow plate 17--here it is bound in at the end. John Agg's related text states, "the accompanying view looks down the Hudson, and affords one of those happy groupings of mountain and water scenery, which, among the windings of the highlands, are so abundant, as to render selection difficult. The artist, however, has displayed a judicious discretion in making choice of a subject which combines historical interest with picturesque beauty. In the fall of the year 1777, the vicinity of Fort Montgomery was the scene of military operations of no mean importance. This fort and Fort Clinton were considered the main defenses of the highlands, and were placed under the command of Governor Clinton, and garrisoned with the best troops...The contemplation of its now quiet verdure calls up a thousand associations of ideas, which clothe the artist’s skill in new charms, and kindles up a thousand lights of memory." The print comes from the Hudson River Portfolio, a monument of American printmaking produced through the collaboration of artists, a writer, and publishers. In the summer of 1820, the Irish-born Wall toured and sketched along the Hudson, then painted a series of large watercolors. Prints of equal scale were proposed—to be issued to subscribers in sets of four—and John Rubens Smith hired to work the plates. Almost immediately, Smith was replaced by the skilled London-trained aquatint engraver John Hill, who finished the first four plates, and produced sixteen more by 1825. Over the next decade, the popularity of the Portfolio stimulated new appreciation for American landscape, and prepared the way for the Hudson River School.