Monacacy Creek with Bethlehem in Background

DeWitt Clinton Boutelle was born on April 6, 1820 in Troy, New York. He was a self-taught artist and painted both landscapes and portraits, although he is most famous for his landscapes. By 1845, he was already holding his first exhibition at the American Art Union. Boutelle worked as an artist throughout the late 1840's and 1850's, moving around the tri-state area before he finally settled in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1858. He became an Associate Member of the National Academy of Design in 1851 as well as a member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1862. He held exhibitions at both the National Academy and the Pennsylvania Academy, along with the Boston Athenaeum and the Washington Art Association.

This large landscape depicts Monocacy Creek looking south in the downtown area of Boutelle's adopted hometown of Bethlehem, where he remained until he passed away on November 5, 1884. Many of the buildings in the background are part of the Moravian Industrial Quarter, the part of Bethlehem where the Moravian people settled in the 1740's and located their mills, blacksmiths, water works, and other necessary public utilities. While some of these buildings have been altered or razed since Boutelle's death, the creek itself remains relatively unchanged, and the area is now a city-operated historic park.