23 

ALFRED THOMPSON BRICHER

American (1837-1908)

NIAGARA FALLS

oil on canvas, 12 3⁄4x 21 5⁄8inches,

signed lower right "A.T. Bricher"

PROVENANCE

A Rhode Island estate; Private Collection, Massachusetts.

Estimate$25,000—$35,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

 

Throughout his career, Bricher traveled extensively, visiting the coasts of Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Canada. He specialized in depicting nature, particularly seascapes, during the late19th and early 20th centuries. He was adept at capturing atmospheric conditions and light.

 

In 1871, A.T. Bricher traveled to Niagara Falls by way of the Erie Canal. The Art Journal for 1880 notes under “Sketches and Studies,” “…Mr. Bricher was a member of the Artists’ Fund Society’s party on their trip to Niagara Falls…during the journey, which was accomplished, not by means of a towed canal-boat…but on board of a commodious and gaily-equipped steam propeller, he made several sketches of the scenery in the heart of New York State and a fine study of the Falls themselves…”

 

Although Bricher revisited the subject on a handful of other occasions the present composition is an extremely rare finished painting of the Falls.