Junction of the Sacandaga and Hudson Rivers (No. 2 of The Hudson River Portfolio) 1821 - 1822

Editor: So, here we have John Hill's "Junction of the Sacandaga and Hudson Rivers," from around 1821. It's a print, I believe a combination of etching and aquatint with watercolor. The scene is just beautiful, so serene even with the brewing storm in the background, but also, it seems so carefully composed. What stands out to you in terms of its historical significance? Curator: What immediately strikes me is the active construction of an American identity through landscape imagery. Prints like these from "The Hudson River Portfolio" played a critical role in shaping public perception of the American wilderness. How do you think the presence of that barely-there, almost symbolic, wagon train factors into that narrative? Editor: I guess it hints at the presence of people, but almost idealizes them, too? Like, taming the wilderness, but not really changing it all that much. Is that connected to why this artistic movement became so popular? Curator: Exactly! The Hudson River School emerged alongside a surge in nationalistic sentiment. Consider how the Erie Canal, completed just a few years after this print, opened up the West, inviting settlement. These images present a vision of harmonious progress, where nature and civilization coexist... though we now see how fraught that ideal was, of course, for Indigenous populations. Do you think a contemporary audience would react differently? Editor: Definitely. Knowing the history changes everything. It’s a beautiful scene, yes, but also a constructed narrative. Curator: Precisely. By examining the context, we see how art actively shaped – and continues to shape – our understanding of ourselves and our environment. Editor: That's a fascinating point! I hadn't considered the role these prints played in promoting westward expansion. I'll definitely look at landscape art differently now.