Up the Hill
Medium
etching in black on laid paper
Dimensions
image: 20.32 × 12.7 cm (8 × 5 in.) plate: 21.75 × 13.18 cm (8 9/16 × 5 3/16 in.) sheet: 27.94 × 19.69 cm (11 × 7 3/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Mr. S.R. Koehler, Boston, Massachusetts)
Accession Number
2015.19.2468
Art Historical Context
"Up the Hill" is a delicate etching created by James David Smillie 1879, capturing the essence of 19th-century American landscape. Smillie, a prominent etcher and painter trained in his family's engraving tradition, produced this intimate work on laid paper—a textured, handmade sheet typical of the era, prized for its ability to hold fine ink lines. Measuring just 8 x 5 inches at its image core, the print invites close viewing, evoking a sense of quiet ascent through rural terrain, perhaps symbolizing perseverance or the beauty of everyday paths. This piece emerges from the American etching r...