James Augustus Suydam (1819-1865)

James Augustus Suydam was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1861. According to Katherine E. Manthorne, "This brief period from 1861 until his death in 1865, then, gave rise to the works of his artistic maturity." (Luminist Horizons: The Art and Collection of James A. Suydam, exhibition catalogue, New York, p. 41)

When the present work was first exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1863, a contemporary viewer wrote, "Few artists have accomplished as much during the past years as James Suydam. In the present exhibition are two really excellent pictures, 'Hook Mountain, Hudson River' and 'New London Lighthouse." (The Knickerbocker, vol. 62, 1863, p. 89) G.C. Williamson notes, "His 'Hook Mountain on the Hudson' created some sensation when first exhibited, and was at once purchased for a notable collection." (Bryan’s Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, London, 1919, vol. 5, pp. 145-46)