Woods to left, mountains rear center, cliffs to right. River running down through center with row boat carrying five people (two women and three men); fisherman center foreground on riverbank.
Like many prints produced by Currier & Ives On The Lake was inspired by trends in contemporary works of art. The German-American artist Albert Bierstadt, who painted grand nature scenes prolifically during his travels across the United States, was favored by the firm. The mountains and lakes of western America captured Bierstadt’s imagination and was the subject matter, along with fishing and boating, in many of his landscapes. The placid lake and the inviting forest pictured here have enticed a fisherman and a boating party of men and women. The print presents a vision of idyllic frontier life in which inhabitants enjoy the natural world’s splendor and are supported by its bounty.
