General+View+of+the+Falls+of+Niagara,+A

Date: 1820
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1967/1967.85_1a.jpg?itok=9Lw8ytEf width="369" height="266" link="@https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/a-general-view-of-the-falls-of-niagara-8340"]] || Title: **A General View of the Falls of Niagara**

Artist: **Alvan Fisher** Born: Needham, Massachusetts 1792 Died: Dedham, Massachusetts 1863

Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: 34 3/8 x 48 1/8 in. (87.2 x 122.3 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum purchase

Accession: 1967.85 || Two scenes by Fisher (this painting and Fisher's// The Great Horseshoe Fall, Niagara//) capture the thrill of visiting Niagara Falls, a site in upstate New York that quickly became a symbol of the continent's epic scale and natural beauty. Tiny figures throw out their arms as if trying to describe to one another the vastness of what they see. Elegant tourists peer decorously across the chasm through opera glasses, while one young lady covers her ears against the stupendous noise. Reckless young men lie on their stomachs, daring one another to draw closer to the rock's edge.
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Windblown trees, Native Americans, and sightseers in top hats and tailcoats enliven the foreground, but the giant cataracts with their inexhaustible flow of water are Fisher's focus. Niagara Falls was America's most celebrated natural attraction in the nineteenth century. Millions visited the site, which became a national icon.

A list of several resources about Alvan Fisher. Most contain biographical information or general information about his treatment Niagara Falls. A diagram of Niagara Falls, printed originally for an exhibition brochure. A General View of the Falls of Niagara Lesson Plan
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">[|Artist Biography] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.3px;">SAAM Collections Page
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