Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Residence of J.B. Harsha of San Gregorio, 1878 |
Object Name |
Lithograph |
Description |
Residence of J.B. Harsha of San Gregorio, 1878. Moore & Depue lithograph by Grafton Tyler Brown. Black and white framed lithograph depicting the Residence of J.B. Harsha of San Gregorio. Image shows a two-story house in a fenced-in yard and a woman standing on the front porch. In front of the fence is a saddled horse, followed by a curved dirt road and a horse standing in the foreground. To the back left of the house is a large fenced-in field where horses run, and behind the house is a stable and another field where cattle and horses graze. A hill range is in the background, and a small white church sits to the back right of the property. Printed on white paper, mounted under glass into a black plastic frame. |
Date |
1878 |
Creator |
Brown, Grafton Tyler |
Role |
Artist |
Creator |
G.T. Brown & CO. LITH., S.F. |
Role |
Lithographer |
Creator |
Moore & DePue |
Role |
Publisher |
Catalog Number |
2011.034.008 |
Dimensions |
H-14.125 W-30.125 D-0.625 inches |
Dimension Details |
Overall. |
Collection |
Three-Dimensional Collection |
Inscription Text |
"103" (top right of print); "Moore & De Pue, Pub. S.F. G.T. Brown & Co. Lith S.F. / Residence OF J.B. Harsha, San Gregorio , San Mateo Cal. Fairview Church" (beneath image) |
Notes |
Grafton Tyler Brown (February 22, 1841 – March 2, 1918) was an American painter, lithographer and cartographer. Brown was the first African-American artist to create works depicting the Pacific Northwest and California. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafton_Tyler_Brown 1/5/2022] Moore & DePue. In 1878, publishers Elliott S. Moore and James De Pue saw opportunity in San Mateo County... Brown divided production of sixty-four views with Britton & Rey, and the larger firm produced... twenty-two views along the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way, including fourteen in the county seat. While Britton & Rey canvassed the more prestigious areas, Brown sketched forty-one farms, residences, and businesses. Of fourteen views that filled two pages, Brown did eleven. Each lithographer used distinctive corner ornaments. Furthermore, Britton & Rey did the county map, while Brown provided the illustrated title page as his forty-second view. Brown's views illustrate his more sophisticated sense of contour and color of mountains, as well as the interplay of sky, cloud, and shadow, while Britton & Rey emphasized foreground people, horses, and houses and their shadows. Brown's shading of hills and clouds adds more depth than is normally found in scenes where the artist's view was expected only to inventory the property of the paying customer. After seven months of production, Moore and DePue praised the "skill and artistic finish" of the plates included in their Illustrated History of San Mateo County, and through the Redwood City newspaper on November 30, 1878, declared that "we are now delivering [them] to our subscribers." For those with second thoughts, the publishers offered, "a limited number can be purchased of our delivering agents while on their route. Price ten dollars." Today, this county history is in great demand. - Robert J. Chander, San Francisco Lithographer: African American Artist Grafton Tyler Brown (2014), pages 146-148. [https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/69670/california-san-mateo-county-moore-de-pues-illustrated-brown-co-depue-moore 1/5/2022] |
Search Terms |
Harsha, J.B. Residences-San Mateo County San Gregorio Horses Cattle Hills Churches |
Subjects |
Lithographs Lithography Houses Horses Stables Cattle Grazing Hills Churches |
People |
Harsha, J.B. |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Brenda Beckett |