WHITLEY, Thomas W. (fl. 1835 - 1865). View of New York City from Hoboken, New Jersey.

WHITLEY, Thomas W. (fl. 1835 - 1865)
View of New York City from Hoboken, New Jersey
Oil on paper laid on panel 
Signed and dated lower left: "WHITLEY 65"
13 1/2" x 26 1/4" sheet, 32 1/2" x 36" framed

This evocative nineteenth-century landscape painting of Manhattan from Hoboken, New Jersey was painted by Thomas W. Whitley, who emigrated from his native England to the United States in the early 1830s. Initially settling in Patterson, New Jersey, he later relocated to New York City where the explosive growth and bustling commerce inspired some of his most notable works. In this painting, the artist rendered the southern tip of the prospering city in the composition’s background (beyond the calm waters of the Hudson River and the channel), with Manhattan’s steeples visibly rising into the dusky, pink and blue sky.

Whitley rapidly attracted attention for his nuanced and lovely work after he arrived in the United States, exhibiting at the National Academy of Design from 1835 to 1863, and at the Apollo Association and Art Union in 1841 and from 1848 to 1849 respectively. He garnered the greatest praise from art critics for his atmospheric landscapes, which brilliantly captured the fleeting effects of light and nature.

This sparkling and vibrantly colored painting, produced during the final year of the Civil War, offers viewers a glimpse of Manhattan as it appeared in the early nineteenth century. Couples and families stroll by the tranquil water’s edge, admiring the view of the city in the distance which rises beyond the body of water dotted with sailing vessels. Expanses of verdant foliage and lounging lambs also pepper the bucolic foreground scene of the New Jersey coast. The composition’s filtered light effect is a hallmark of Whitley’s style, here suggesting late afternoon.

This work is a foremost example of Whitley’s talent at capturing atmospheric effects and of his fine painting style. It also affords audiences unique views of pre-industrial Hoboken, New Jersey and a rapidly developing New York City.