Lot 189: Hermann Fuechsel (1833-1915)

Hermann Fuechsel (1833-1915)
View of the Narrows from Brighton Heights, Staten Island
signed and dated 'H. Fuechsel N.Y. 1860' (lower right)
oil on canvas
19¼ x 39¼ in. (48.9 x 99.7 cm.)

The Thomas M. Evans Collection.
Christie's, New York, 18 June 1998, lot 283.
Private collection, France.

The present work depicts a view of the Narrows, a waterway that separates the Upper New York Bay and the Lower New York Bay. The land protruding on the right is what is now referred to as Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, with Battery Weed visible in the distance. The opposite side of the water depicts Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, with Fort Lafayette visible offshore. Fort Lafayatte stood on a small island that is now under the eastern stanchion of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.