From the Mill
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
In this drawing Alexander Robertson used a stylized graphic shorthand developed by his brother Archibald, who authored the first drawing manual published in the United States, Elements of the Graphic Arts (1802). The artist rendered leaves with looping strokes of his pen, created shading with parallel diagonal lines, and used lighter outlines for background motifs to indicate spatial distance. While the presence of a mill on the Hudson River suggests the beginning of industrial development, the drawing presents a harmonious vision of man in nature, with its tiny figure of a fisherman tucked among the rocks at the left.
Caption
Alexander Robertson (American, born Scotland, 1772–1841). From the Mill, September 11, 1796. Black ink on off-white, moderately thick, moderately textured laid paper, Sheet: 8 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (22.2 x 29.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Milberg, 1990.216.2. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
From the Mill
Date
September 11, 1796
Medium
Black ink on off-white, moderately thick, moderately textured laid paper
Classification
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (22.2 x 29.2 cm)
Signatures
Unsigned
Inscriptions
Inscribed at lower right in ink: "11. Sept. 1796" Inscribed in different hand at lower right corner in graphite: "3500"
Credit Line
Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Milberg
Accession Number
1990.216.2
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
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