George Henry Smillie 1840-1921

Harmsen Museum of Art, Golden, Colorado
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
(Sale: Christie's, Los Angeles, October 26, 2006, lot 19)

Denver, Colorado, Colorado Historical Society, The Colorado Heritage Center, n.d.
Prescott, Arizona, Phippen Museum of Western Art, The Harmsen Collection of Western Art: Celebrating the Taos Influence,
April 22 to August 2, 1994

Canvas is not lined. SURFACE: in good condition UNDER ULTRA VIOLET: no apparent inpainting
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Access to the Yosemite Valley was still extremely difficult when Yosemite National Park was created in 1890.  However by 1907 the completion of the Yosemite Valley Railroad permitted a much easier way to experience 'The Incomparable Valley' and its outstanding features, including Half Dome.

Despite its name and appearance, Half Dome is not the remains of a larger, more rounded mountain peak; it is a ridge, now thought to be almost intact.  Still, it is a spectacular eminence, rising vertiginously almost 5,000 feet from the valley floor beneath.

Half Dome has been documented in paintings, sketches and photographs, almost from its discovery by Westerners in the mid-1800s, most famously perhaps by Ansel Adams in his 1960 photograph Moon and Half Dome.  Smillie's composition, painted probably from sketches done on trips there with his brother (and fellow artist) James David Smillie, ranks as one of the finest and most dramatic depictions of this picturesque view.

George Henry Smillie enjoyed a long career as a professional artist, painting many views of New York and New England scenery, and as railroads made western destinations within reach, out as far as California.