Autumn on the Hudson River by John Williamson | Life in the Realm of Fantasy

Artist: John Williamson (1826–1885)

Title: Autumn, Hudson River

Date: 1871

Medium: oil on canvas

Dimensions: 45.7 × 58.4 cm (17.9 × 22.9 in).

Inscriptions: Signed and inscribed verso (now covered by relining): Autumn. / Hudson River. / By J. W. Williamson / N.Y. 1871

What I love about this painting:

Williamson shows us a peaceful autumn day on New York’s Hudson River, focusing on the quiet beauty of wild grass and calm waters.

This is a beautiful depiction of what autumn often looks like where I live, despite it’s being on the other side of the continent.

The morning mist is gradually lifting, revealing a field of harvest-gold grass. Inland, I imagine the farmers are hoping for the mist to burn off to sunny Indian summer day so they can get the hay in before the weather turns wet.

Further out, the sails of fishing boats and cargo vessels gleam white in the mist as they go about their business, likely also hoping for a sunny day. I suspect they won’t get it, as the cloud cover looks high and there to stay.

As I mentioned above, this view of a less-than-sunny day on the East Coast is not too different from autumn here in the Pacific Northwest.

To my knowledge, this is the first time I have come across works by John Williamson.

I could find nothing about him or his art on Wikipedia, but I did find a few biographies about him on several art auction sites. This was the most informative:

About John Williamson, via Questroyal Fine Art:

John Williamson was a versatile artist who created still lifes, genre scenes, and landscapes during the heyday of the Hudson River School. Born in Scotland, Williamson came to the United States with his family in 1831. He spent most of his life in Brooklyn, New York, studying art at the Brooklyn Institute and helping to found the Brooklyn Art Association. [1]

To continue reading about this artist, go to John Williamson – Questroyal Fine Art.