| Date: | 1881 |
| Medium: | oil on canvas, lined |
| Size: | 42 x 70 inches (107 x 178 cm) |
| Inscription: | l/r "F. Schafer/1881" in red |
| Provenance: | With William A. Karges Fine Art, Carmel, California, January 2000; to private collection, Mendocino, California, February 2000. |
| Site: | A view looking East into Yosemite Valley, California, from just below the Topinemete bluffs along the old Mariposa trail, probably near Inspiration point, with Bridalveil Fall below on the right, El Capitan high on the left, Half-dome on the horizon in the center, and snow covered peaks of distant mountains along the horizon. |
| Description: | Two women and a child in colorful native dress walk along a road leading away from the viewer, toward the valley below. The sides of the trail are gentle, open grassy slopes strewn with boulders. Tall conifers (Jaffrey pines?) stand in pairs and threes on both sides. A small snag nestles among boulders on the left side of the trail. Below and beyond the figures the trail enters a dark green forest; Beyond that the vast expanse of the valley itself is bright but grey and crisp. the sky is light blue with no clouds (From a color photograph.) |
| Note: | (1) This is one of several Schafer paintings of Yosemite Valley in which the tall foreground conifers are clustered in pairs or threes. Other examples are the small watercolor [Three hikers entering Yosemite Valley], oils The Yosemite Valley from Artist's Point, California [4], The Yosemity Valley - California [5], [Yosemite Valley from Artist's Point, California 5], and the mural The Yosemite Valley (mural) (1895). (2) The clustered tall pines, topiary-like small pines, and neatly chiseled walls of the canyon below lend an unusually stylized appearance to this painting. It contrasts strongly with much of Schafer's other work, which is notable for its natural appearance. |
| In index(es): | Title list, Yosemite Valley--classic view |
![[photo]](../smalls/p/img0678.jpg)