HIGH WATER IN THE MISSISSIPPI 1952 Frances Flora Bond Palmer PRINT

Original 1952 Reprint 13 1/2 inch x 8 1/2 inch Colour Print of the 1868 Lithograph titled ”HIGH WATER” IN THE MISSISSIPPI

In the foreground, uprooted trees bob in the current, using a roof as a raft two men pole themselves and nine others to safety, one of their companions holds tight to reins of a mule swimming beside the roof, whilst two others rescue furniture and a barrel. In the mid-ground: a large white-painted house with second-floor balconies front and back, and a smaller cook-house off to the right side. Two men in a row boat approach the back of the house, a lady stands on the balcony speaking to the men; on the widow's walk on the roof a man and a woman stand: the man waves a handkerchief to the twin-stack riverboat. The riverboat, "Stonewall Jackson" is travelling at speed: the near-side paddle creates a substantial wake, the flags fly in the stiff breeze and the smoke from the stacks steams backwards: passengers line the rails attracted by the human drama they are passing. The overall impression is of a crisis that is being survived and dealt with by man's ingenuity, whilst life continues..

Drawn by Frances Flora Bond Palmer (1812 - 1876). Fanny Palmer was the first woman in the United States to work as a professional artist, and to make a living with her art. She produced more Currier and Ives' prints than any other artist. Known as Fanny, she worked for Nathaniel Currier for more than twenty-five years. She was, according to Gloria Deak, "the foremost woman lithographer of her time". Born and raised in England by a cultivated family, she was already an accomplished painter and lithographer when she came to America in 1844, at which time she exhibited two works at the National Academy of Design. By 1849, she was working for Currier producing landscapes and still lifes. She lithographed these prints herself, usually after her own sketches.

Originally produced in 1869 by Currier and Ives. The New York firm of Currier & Ives grew from a printing business established by Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888) in 1835. Expansion led, in 1857, to a partnership with brother-in-law James Merritt Ives (1824–1895). The firm operated until 1907, lithographing over 4,000 subjects for distribution across America and Europe with popular categories including landscape, marines, natural history, genre, caricatures, portraits, history and foreign views. Until the 1880s, images were printed in monochrome, then hand-colored by women who worked for the company at home.

Inscription under the image: “F.F. PALMER // Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year AD 1868, by Currier & Ives, in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. // REPRINTED FROM LITH. OF CURRIER & IVES”

Published by Bonanza Books, New York

Plate size 15 3/8 inch x 11 5/8 inch

Reverse side blank

The print is in very good condition.