Frederic Edwin Church and Niagara Falls

Frederic Edwin Church and Niagara Falls

Perhaps two of the best known, “paintings of the 19th Century” are two oil landscape paintings of Niagara Falls by American painter, Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900).
One painting places the spectator on the edge of the precipice at Table Rock where the surging water rushes on with uneasy energy. You can sense the rushing power. It was painted in 1857.
 
I often visit the main Niagara Falls Library and always admire the large re-production of this painting behind the front desk at the entrance to the library. I’ve attached a photo I took of the reproduction.
 
A second painting by Church in 1867 (not on display at the library) is painted from the American side looking across the American Falls into Canada. I’ve also attached a photo of this painting.
 
These original spectacular paintings are found in National Gallery of Scotland.