
VISUALIZING THE ADIRONDACKS AND ST. LAWRENCE RIVER VALLEY
Verplanck Colvin, Adirondack Survey: Specimen of Preliminary Reconnaissance Sketch
William Stinson, Spring 2023
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
Verplanck Colvin was a surveyor from upstate New York who conducted extensive examinations of the topographic characteristics of the Adirondack Mountains in the latter half of the nineteenth century. He led numerous expeditions into the wilderness of the region, and based on his experiences, advocated for its preservation. His advocacy played a major role in the creation of the Adirondack Park and New York State Forest Preserve. Colvin conducted his surveys at a time when access to the Adirondacks was becoming much more feasible for the average person.
A panel on the left side of the map indicates the map is part of Colvin’s 1873 official state survey of the Adirondacks. Its red, black, and blue lines communicate the special particulars of remote ponds and peaks in the vicinity of modern-day Sabattis. On the surface, the piece may seem to be purely cartographic and informational in nature. Although it might be interpreted as a simple decoration, the inclusion of an illustration of men portaging a canoe through the woods in the top left suggests the wider cultural implications and intentions of the surveying project: This map facilitated the outings of early tourists to the region by conveying information in a more democratic fashion. The map was produced in a time period when knowledge of the region was monopolized by a few local wilderness guides. The presentation of this region’s secrets in publishable form represents a transitional period in which Colvin “conquered” the wild by capturing its features in a scientific survey.
– William Stinson ’26
- Paul
Verplanck Colvin
Adirondack Survey: Specimen of Preliminary Reconnaissance Sketch, 1873
Lithograph by Weed, Parsons & Co., 1873, 24 x 19 in.
Richard F. Brush Art Gallery
SLU 99.2
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