Niagara Falls from Above; verso: sketch of Niagara Falls Area

In this watercolor by Thomas Davies, among the earliest images of Niagara Falls, the artist places the viewer thrillingly close to the precipice of Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian shore. At the far right of this dramatic vista, Davies depicted two indigenous Americans, while three eagles hover over the falls.

Eighteenth-century Europeans were fascinated by North America’s untamed wilderness, especially its spectacular waterfalls. In 1768, a series of six engravings based on Davies’s watercolors of North American waterfalls, including one of Niagara Falls that the artist dated 1762, were published in England as Scenographia Americana. This work and its pendant, Niagara Falls from Below (1954.3), may have been alternative studies for the print of Niagara Falls in Scenographia Americana (which has a watercolor model), particularly since the watercolors and the print share the same dimensions.

A soldier, artist, and naturalist, Davies studied drawing at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, England. He rose to the rank of lieutenant general and was posted in North America during the Seven Years’ War. From his tours of duty, Davies produced the first accurate renderings of Canadian cities and landscapes. His mature style, which emerged in the 1760s, is characterized by vigorous compositions and bold gouache accents, as in this unconventional view. Davies executed battle sketches and city scenes during his later postings to New York (1776–79) and Quebec City (1786–90). Today, he is considered one of the most talented early North American artists; his watercolors communicate the adventure of the unspoiled natural world of the continent.