Daniel Huntington, American, 1816–1906 - Bald Knob, from end of Waterville Road, the Gurley's - September 17, 1855 - T-Shirt

A quiet graphite landscape from 1855, showing a mountain range rising behind an open meadow, dated and placed by the artist himself at the end of Waterville Road.

Visual Elements & Composition

The sketch is drawn in soft graphite pencil on pale cream paper, with the image set in a horizontal rectangle and a faint off-white border framing it. The mountain range fills the middle distance, its ridges shaded in fine grey strokes. Deciduous trees gather along the left edge, a small cabin sits at the right, and grassy tufts in the foreground anchor the view. Handwritten notes in the margin read "Field Notes," "End of Waterville Road," and "Sept 17 55," so the sheet works like a page from a sketchbook.

Meaning & Symbolism

Huntington was known mainly for portraits and history paintings, but he also made outdoor studies like this one. Here the landscape is recorded with precision: a named knob, a specific road, a specific day. The small hut and the cleared meadow show the rural American countryside of the 1850s as a place people lived and worked, and the artist's notes tie the view to a local place he knew well.

Made for the Wearer Who Looks Closely

A tee carries its image across the chest, so the sketch is seen at conversation distance and read line by line. The pencil texture, the margin notes and the small cabin at the edge reward a second look, which suits a design built from careful observation. Wear it as a record of one afternoon on one road in 1855.