"View By Moonlight Near Fayetteville"
From Picturesque Views of American Scenery by Shaw and Hill.
Philadelphia: Mathew Carey & Son, 1819-20.

Joshua Shaw was an academically trained British painter who emigrated to Philadelphia in 1817. He was inspired by the natural beauty of the countryside to create a series of prints depicting some of its “most prominent beauties.” His was the earliest attempt to produce a systematic series of views of America.  Shaw selected the particularly labor intensive medium of hand colored aquatinted engravings to create his views whose fine quality and great tonal variation virtually replicate the effect of original watercolors. He commissioned John Hill to engrave the series. For Hill, it was his first important commission and marked the beginning of his fame as an aquatint artist.

The romanticized moonlit scene shows travelers, their horses and wagons resting near a creek gathered around a roaring fire.

17 x 14 inches, sheet.
Hand colored aquatinted engraving.
Excellent condition.