From the Mill
Alexander Robertson
American Art
In this drawing Alexander Robertson used a stylized graphic shorthand developed by his brother Archibald, who authored the first drawing manual published in the United States, Elements of the Graphic Arts (1802). The artist rendered leaves with looping strokes of his pen, created shading with parallel diagonal lines, and used lighter outlines for background motifs to indicate spatial distance. While the presence of a mill on the Hudson River suggests the beginning of industrial development, the drawing presents a harmonious vision of man in nature, with its tiny figure of a fisherman tucked among the rocks at the left.
MEDIUM
Black ink on off-white, moderately thick, moderately textured laid paper
DATES
September 11, 1796
DIMENSIONS
Sheet: 8 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (22.2 x 29.2 cm) (show scale)
SIGNATURE
Unsigned
INSCRIPTIONS
Inscribed at lower right in ink: "11. Sept. 1796"
Inscribed in different hand at lower right corner in graphite: "3500"
COLLECTIONS
American Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
1990.216.2
CREDIT LINE
Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Milberg
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Sheet torn from sketchbook bound at left edge
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Alexander Robertson (American, born Scotland, 1772â1841). From the Mill, September 11, 1796. Black ink on off-white, moderately thick, moderately textured laid paper, Sheet: 8 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (22.2 x 29.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Leonard L. Milberg, 1990.216.2 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1990.216.2_IMLS_PS3.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 1990.216.2_IMLS_PS3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
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