Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Residence of James Byrnes of San Mateo, 1878 |
Object Name |
Lithograph |
Description |
Residence of James Byrnes of San Mateo, 1878. Moore & DePue lithograph by Grafton Tyler Brown. Hand-painted framed lithograph depicting the residence of James Byrnes of San Mateo. Image shows a large white house with a red roof in a large yard with pathways and vegetation throughout. The house sits in front of a large body of water upon which a sail boat and a steamboat are traveling. In the background are a mountain and hills. To the right of the house is a watch tower and a white fence lines the front of the yard. Printed on white paper, mounted under glass into a brown wooden frame with an off-white mat with a black and green edge. |
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 |
1998.117.002 |
Dimensions |
H-13.25 W-16 D-0.875 inches |
Dimension Details |
Overall. |
Collection |
Three-Dimensional Collection |
Inscription Text |
"Moore & DePue, Pub.S.F. LIth. G.T.Brown & Co.Lith.S.F. / Residence of James Byrnes , San Mateo Cal." (beneath image); "THE / FRAMING PLACE / (415) 341-4437 / 4220 Olympic Ave. San Mateo, CA" (sticker on back bottom right corner) |
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 |
Lithographs Residences-San Mateo County San Mateo Byrnes, James Water Sailing Hills |
Subjects |
Lithographs Lithography Houses Water Sailboats Steamboats Mountains Hills Watch towers |
People |
Byrnes, James |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Assistance League of San Mateo County |