JOHN CARWITHAM (1723-1741). A View of Fort George with the City of New York from the SW. 1764

JOHN CARWITHAM (1723-1741)
A View of Fort George with the City of New York from the SW
Engraving with original hand color
London: Carrington Bowles, ca. 1764
11 5/8" x 17 5/8" sheet; 19 3/4" x 25 3/4" framed

This early view of New York depicts the southern tip of Manhattan Island as it appeared sometime between 1731 and 1736 (likely around 1734). Almost certainly the view originated from a drawing by the English immigrant artist William Burgis (active 1717–1730s) since the right half of the print showing the fort and the large ship in the foreground replicates a mezzotint that Burgis dedicated to John Montgomerie, the colonial governor of New York. King George II appointed Montgomerie in 1728, but he governed only a few years before dying in 1731 during a small pox epidemic. The view is one of the earliest depicting New York from the west with the broad Hudson River in the foreground. Stokes refers to the view as “one of the most important, interesting, and sought-after prints of Old New York” (Volume 1, plate 31, page 269).