Artwork of the Week!! Sun., April 25, 2021, is by James D. Smillie (1833-1909): Cathedral Rocks, Yo-Semite, oil painting, 13-1/4 x 16-1/4", 1871. POR
The Artwork of the Week!! Sunday, April 25, 2021, is by noted American Painter-Printmaker James David Smillie (1833-1909). Celebrating 50 Years of Art Dealing
Cathedral Rocks, Yo-Semite is an oil painting on canvas on a panel, painted plein-air in August 1871 by American printmaker-painter James David Smillie (1833-1999). The canvas measures 13-1/4 x 16-1/4." The painting is signed with the artist's "JDS" monogram in the lower left in black pigment and is annotated "Cathedral Rocks / Yo-Semite / Aug '71". Our inventory number for this important rare work is BC232. This painting is from the Smillie estate and has been in the possession of the family. There is an old Hirschl & Adler Galleries label on the verso.
This unique oil painting by printmaker-painter James David Smillie (1833-1909) is available from the gallery. Contact the gallery for price and with any condition or other questions.
Shipping costs will be discussed. California residents will have sales tax added. Out of state residents may be responsible for use tax, depending on state law.The Smillie brothers, James D. and George H, had difficultly supporting themselves due to the sparse sales of their paintings and found it necessary to live with their parents. A gift from an uncle allowed the brothers to travel across the country in June of 1871 and live for the better part of four months in Yosemite in California. During that summer, James drew, painted, and wrote about the majestic splendor of Yosemite.
In 1872, Picturesque America was published by D. Appleton and Company of New York. James D. wrote The Yosemite section based upon his journal entries and illustrated it with engravings after his drawings and paintings. These are some of the earliest paintings of Yosemite done by a professional artist. Of note is the spelling of the locale, spelled here as Yo-Semite, the Miwok name, meaning "those who kill." The "Yos.s.e'meti" tribe, led by Chief Tenaya, were composed of individuals from multiple tribes, including Mono Paiute from the eastern Sierra. The Ahwahnechee Paiute were traditional enemies of the nearby, more-peaceful Miwok people. The English name Yosemite was given by L. H. Bunnell, twenty years before this painting was done, in 1851 who thought it meant "Grizzly Bear"
In the Yosemite section of Picturesque America, Smillie described his personal responses to the landscape:
"From the foot of Sentinel Falls an excellent view may be had of the meadows, the groves, the river, and the slopes at the foot of the walls of rock on either hand. On the right is El Capitan, three thousand three hundred feet high; on the left are the Cathedral Rocks, nearly two thousand seven hundred feet in height—the two forming what may be called the southern gate to the valley."
and: "Great cliffs have fallen, and avalanches of rock have ploughed their way down the slope to the bottom of the valley. While climbing in such surroundings, the wreck of some world is suggested, so vast the ruin and so pygmy the climber. No words can convey other than a feeble impression of the effects of mountains of granite, sharp and fresh in fracture, piled one upon the other, the torn fragments of a forest underneath, or strewed about, as though the greatest had been but as straws tossed in the wind. A broad track of desolation leads away up to the heights from which these rocks have been thrown."
To purchase this remarkable work, see other works, or read a biography use this link to our website for James David Smillie.
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