Print (Lithograph)

Description

This hand-colored lithograph, created in 1856 by New York-based printmaker Nathaniel Currier, depicts an idyllic summer recreation scene. A woman sits reading under a tree as children play and a man on horseback approaches, all set before the imposing façade of a Neo-Classical summer cottage. Currier’s print documents the changing relationship of the wealthy, urban elite to the rural land beyond the city. As they constructed increasingly expansive summer ‘cottages’ to escape the summer heat, these vacationers permanently altered the economies and built environment of newly fashionable country and seaside retreats.​