Philadelphia Antiques Show 2018

8 Kathleen Foster, “Nicolino (Visconte) di Calyo,” in Three Centuries of American Art (1976; repr., Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1990), 299. 9 Kathleen Foster, “View of the Waterworks,” in Three Centuries of American Art (1976; repr., Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1990), 299–300. 10 Jane Mork Gibson, “The Fairmount Waterworks,” Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin 84, no. 360, 361 (Summer 1988): 24, 27–28. Nicolino Calyo, American (born Italy), 1799 - 1884 View of the Waterworks at Fairmount 1835-1836 Opaque watercolor on wove paper, mounted on board Sheet: 26 1/8 x 36 1/2 inches (66.4 x 92.7 cm) Mount: 26 7/8 x 36 3/4 inches (68.3 x 93.3 cm) 125th Anniversary Acquisition. Gift of the McNeil Americana Collection, 2009 2009-218-7 T aking a very different approach than Brown’s representation of water and nature, Nicolino Calyo’s (1799–1884) depiction of the Fairmount Waterworks and Schuylkill River uses rich colors and romanticized imagery. Calyo was born a viscount in Italy and trained in Europe, working briefly at the royal court in Spain before fleeing the country on the brink of its civil war. He immigrated to the United States in 1834, settling initially in Baltimore and moving to New York in 1838. 8 He was best known in his time for producing gouache scenes of Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia. His two distinct views of the Fairmount Waterworks resonate particularly profoundly for the Museum, as they depict the site that would be chosen less than one hundred years later for its main building. Calyo’s representation of the Waterworks is not strictly realistic. In addition to the fanciful figures of the river boat men and dapper promenaders, Calyo made several alterations, omissions, and enlargements to the architecture and scenery to create a more balanced and visually pleasing image. The level of detail included by Calyo, however, in combination with surviving records of Philadelphia’s Water Department, suggests that he made the painting between 1835 and 1836. 9 Elements of the Waterworks and the accompanying recreation gardens still stand, and can be visited today. The edge of the reservoir at the top of the hill visible on the right of the image, from which water was distributed throughout the city, was eventually filled in and is the current site of the Museum’s main building. During the “golden age” of the Fairmount Waterworks, from roughly 1830 to 1850, the Waterworks were viewed as a marvel, a successful blend of industrial progress, technological innovation, bucolic recreation, and artistic and architectural achievement. The Waterworks were a frequent tourist destination for visitors to Philadelphia in this period, including internationally known luminaries such as Charles Dickens. 10 Calyo was not the only artist to depict this scenic section of the growing metropolis. The Waterworks have often been chosen as a picturesque representation of Philadelphia, appearing in paintings, prints, drawings, and ceramics from the nineteenth century to the present day. This work is one of many recently given by Robert L. McNeil Jr. to the Museum. As discussed earlier in connection to Rubens Peale’s From Nature in the Garden , McNeil had a strong interest in collecting the arts of Philadelphia, including depictions of the city like View of the Waterworks at Fairmount, as well as works made by city residents such as the Peales. The Museum has a considerable collection of views of the Waterworks, not only due to their spatial proximity to the site of the Museum, but also because of the Waterworks’ outsize role in the imaginations of Philadelphians and visitors to the city. Nicolino Calyo, View of the Waterworks at Fairmount W 122 W