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Mount Washington from the Saco Ford
Samuel Lancaster Gerry (1813-91)
Signed and dated lower center: S. L. Gerry 1858
Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches
Private collection
Mount Washington from the Saco Ford was probably among the ninety-five paintings Samuel Lancaster Gerry sold at an October 1858 auction in Boston. The sale appealed to buyers "who have now gone into winter quarters after their summer's travel and vacation." Once successful as a sign painter and miniaturist, the Boston native won praise for the "peculiar naturalness and out-of-door charm" of his landscapes. "Conway fever," however, was abating when Gerry painted this scene. Artists had begun to seek vistas elsewhere. A rainy summer in 1857 had discouraged both tourism and artists' excursions to the mountains. Nevertheless, Gerry found inspiration there, visiting both the Pemigewasset Valley and Maine (no doubt passing through Conway), before returning to paint in Boston.
