Sailboat on Lake; Figure on Shore, 1871 (from Sketchbook)

The leading portraitist in New York during the post-Civil War period--and president of the National Academy of Design from 1862 to 1870 and from 1877 to 1890--Daniel Huntington was a conservative painter, a man highly respected by his clients and colleagues throughout his long career. Although he traveled widely and frequently during the mid- and late nineteenth century, he shunned new artistic concepts and styles. As a staunch academician in technique and manner, Huntington understood that proper draftsmanship was at the core of accomplished painting. He sketched throughout the course of his life and his extant drawings number over a thousand.

This page is from one of Huntington’s sketchbooks that contains forty-one drawings in graphite, some in a panorama format. The sketches are primarily of scenic locations in New York State including, Cornwall, Walton, and Mohonk subjects. Many of the drawings are dated 1871 and most are inscribed with the site represented.

Credit: Gift of S.B. Luyster, 1936