American, folk painting of Niagara Falls, circa 1830-40, unsigned, oil on wood panel set in painted white pine frame; painted panel 23-1/2 x 36-1/4 in.; with frame 35-1/2 x 44 x 1 in.

Provenance: American Folk Art and Furniture Formerly in the Collection of Daphne Farago, Sold to Benefit the Rhode Island School of Design, Sotheby's, New York, NY, February 2, 1991, lot 1235; Joel and Kate Kopp America Hurrah, New York, NY, April 1997 (accompanied by copy of receipt for $10,500); From the Collection of Elbert H. Parsons, Jr., Huntsville, Alabama

Note: In the early part of the 19th century, Niagara Falls quickly became the popular destination that it remains to this day. The Erie Canal allowed visitors to experience the grandeur and wild magnificence of the scene first hand, and adventurers swarmed to it. Artists of all calibers were naturally drawn to this grandeur, so early images of it are among the most iconic in American painting history. This clearly untrained artist has captured the cloud patterns, rainbow, the tumult of the falls, and the tiny figures on shore with the strength and charm of the best known folk painters.