ABOUT THE ARTWORK

A prominent figure in the history of the Adirondacks, Verplanck Colvin (1847-1920) spent the majority of his working life surveying the mountains. During these surveys, Colvin would produce multiple drawings and sketches of the Adirondacks’ natural beauty, including landscapes and depictions of flora and fauna. Colvin would then include these sketches and drawings as data in his surveys to serve as visual representations of the region. These sketches and drawings not only documented the region but also served as a means of promoting conservation efforts by showing the true beauty of the Adirondacks.

In the foreground of the print, three members of Colvin’s crew look onward at the Gothics Mountain ahead of them. As shown, Colvin often displayed the process of the survey within his sketches, leading to a better understanding of mapmaking among the public. As the survey crew works to climb this snow-covered mountain, they are separated by a dark stand of evergreen trees, a common sight in the Adirondack region. Colvin uses shadows to his advantage by highlighting different parts of the mountain to add a sense of depth and order to this landscape. Beyond the immediate snow-covered mountain, Colvin displays the vastness of this range, which never seems to end as the mountains fade into the horizon. The men dwarfed by these grand mountains dramatize the contest between man and nature. Through this drawing and others like it, Colvin portrayed the Adirondack Mountain range as something bigger than himself, furthering his goal to protect the Adirondack region and its compelling allure.
– Hayden Beyer ’26

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Verplanck Colvin
The Crest of The Gothics – View Southward, 1880
Lithography by Weed, Parsons & Co.
Richard F. Brush Art Gallery
SLU 2016.9

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