Frederic Edwin Church's Niagara, with green water rushing toward the curved edge of the falls.
Human Verified
National Gallery of Art Open Access image CC0

Niagara

by Frederic Edwin Church

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
101.6 x 229.9 cm (40 x 90 1/2 inches)
Year
1857
Availability
In a museum collection, not for sale
Collection
National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
2014.79.10
Credit Line
Corcoran Collection, Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund, 1876
Copyright
Public domain, museum image marked free to use
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Description

Green water races toward the curved edge of Horseshoe Falls. Mist and a broken rainbow rise below while the viewer seems to hover just above the current.

Look Closer

Look for a ledge, railing or person who could make the view feel safe. There is none. Church makes the water carry your eye straight toward the drop, then stretches the fall across a canvas more than seven feet wide.

How It Was Made, and What Changed

Church cut away the safe foreground that usually tells a viewer where to stand. The National Gallery of Art records a long exhibition history beginning in 1857. The painting was promoted as a one-work attraction, and large crowds paid to see it before it toured Britain and American cities.