Pennsylvania Falls

“In the second quarter of the nineteenth century the region now known as the Pocono Mountains was much more than a cozy hideaway for honeymooners. That mountain ridge—to the north of and parallel to the Kittatinny Mountain—forms the eastern edge of a high, rocky plateau of varied forest and swamp, drained along its eastern escarpment by spectacular waterfalls in deep ravines with hemlock and rhododendron, descending along tributaries to the Delaware River. These waterfalls are the characteristic scenic attraction peculiar to the region. Two of these waterfalls painted by Grunewald [this one and another in Moravian University’s Collection] have an exaggerated scale to make them appear even more sublime than the mighty Niagara. Although the waterfalls pictured remain unidentified, these paintings are known traditionally as “Waterfall and Cascade” and “Pennsylvania Falls” [pictured]."

From: Blume, Peter F. "Gustav Grunewald 1805–1878." Allentown Art Museum Publication, 1992. Pages 18-20.