Nawet w czasie kanikuły urlopowej trafi się coś ciekawego. W zasadzie trudno dodać coś nowego do poniższego opisu, bo jest niezwykle dokładny. Może jedynie to, że postument czekał prawie sto lat na ustawienie na nim pomnika Kościuszki (strasznie trudne słowo dla Amerykanów). Ale jak już ustawili tak stoi do dziś i większość polonusów fotografuje się przy nim na pamiątkę. Dawniej wjeżdżało się do West Point z ulicy i machało ręką gwardziście stojącemu na warcie, a teraz trudno dostać się tam bez zapowiedzi wczesnej i sprawdzania dokumentów. Samochodów też już nie wpuszczaja na teren Akademii.

Praca Coatsa ma swój odpowiednik w twórczości innego Brytyjczyka, Williama Henrego Bartletta (1809 – 1854). To samo ujęcie postumentu ale rysowane i rytowane ok 1840 roku, zatem ok 15 lat wcześniej. Praca Bartletta jest dużo żywsza, dynamiczna, mająca więcej światła w stosunku do Coatsa o czym można sie przekonać ogłądając engraving na dole tego artykułu. Licho wie czemu Brytyjczycy tak masochistycznie rysowali tereny jakie przegrali w wojnie o niepodległość Stanów. I to w dodatku rysowali największą zarazę jaka zagrodziła im łańcuchami flotę na Hudsonie i doprowadziła do powstania światowej klasy akademii wojskowej.

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Lot 377. Medium: O/C Support: Canvas. Artist: Edmund C. Coates (1816-1871). Country of Origin: English/American. Title & Description: “The Kosciusko Monument at West Point”This painting is housed in its original frame and, while on a rectangular stretcher, is framed within an original oval liner. The painting shows the gated Kosciusko Monument in the upper left, with the secondary focus being on that of the Hudson River dotted with sailboats, and a tertiary focus on the figures of two women picking flowers on a hill in the foreground. The pleasantries of the composition contrasting to the historical background of the Revolutionary War and the many sacrifices made to support this snapshot of the 1854 bucolic state.This exact painting exhibited at the Putnam Historical Museum.Kosciuszko’s Monument is a pedestal and statue of Polish General Tadeusz Kosciuszko at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Kosciuszko designed the defenses of the West Point garrison from 1778–1780 during the height of the Revolutionary War, when George Washington considered West Point to be the most important military post in America. The pedestal and shaft of the monument was first proposed in 1825 by John Latrobe, and dedicated in 1828. The statue, designed by D. Borja, was later added in 1913.Kosciuszko, having attended the Royal Knights School in Warsaw and audited classes at the Ecole Militaire, advocated the establishment of an American military school for officers, a subject on which he wrote Jefferson many times.[3]:88 After Jefferson established the academy, General William Davie requested Kosciuszko write the manual, Manoeuvres of Horse Artillery, which became a textbook at the academy
Signature: Bottom Right
Date of Work: 1854
Frame: Gilt wood and gesso
Work Size: 20.0×24.0″ oval: 17.5×21.25″
Frame Size: 24.5×28.25″
Weight: 10.8lbs
Provenance: Putnam County Estate
Condition: Lined, excellently preserved, with no touch-ups added nor needed.
Artist Biography: A landscape, portrait, marine and history painter, Edmund C. Coates lived in New York City during his active period 1837-1872. Brooklyn and New York City directories from those years list him as Edward, Edmund C., E.C. Coates, and E.G. Coates.His paintings include landscapes of Canada and Italy although it is not known if the artist traveled to those countries or if other works inspired the scenes. He also painted in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and, listed as one of the Hudson River School painters, did numerous Hudson River Valley scenes such as Shipping on the Hudson River, 1855. His painting titled Washington’s Headquarters at Newburgh, 1867, depicted a popular scene among the Hudson River painters because it was George Washington’s headquarters painted against the backdrop of Storm Mountain near the town of Newburgh.Collections holding work by Coates include the New York Historical Society, the New York State Historical Association and the Shelburne Museum.Sources include:A Century of American Landscapes 1812-1912, Frank S. Schwarz and Son, Philadelphia, 1986Peter Falk, Who Was Who in American ArtJohn Howat, The Hudson River and Its Painters. Estimate $8,000 – $12,000.

Louis J. Dianni. August 9, 2014.

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WH Bartlett-Posument Kościuszki w West Point, ca 1840