File talk:Bierstadt Albert Mount Washington.jpg

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Although this image has been titled Mount Washington, it is really Mount Lafayette. You can make out features from Franconia Notch including Lafayette Ravine, Eagle Cliff, and Bald Mountain. So, unless I hear from others, I intend to correct its title and remove it from the article on Mount Washington (New Hampshire). JJ (talk) 22:05, 15 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that it looks like the north entrance to Franconia Notch. See my comments at the Mount Washington talk page, however. Thanks for pointing this out!--Ken Gallager (talk) 14:30, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Discussion from Mount Washington article[edit]

This is the discussion about this image that is at Talk:Mount Washington (New Hampshire)--Ken Gallager (talk) 15:09, 19 January 2010 (UTC):[reply]

The image at the bottom of the article by Bierstadt of Mount Washington is not Mount Washington, but Mount Lafayette. See my comments here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_talk:Bierstadt_Albert_Mount_Washington.jpg. Unless someone can convince me that I am wrong, I intend to remove the image from this article and place in it the article on Mount Lafayette. JJ (talk) 22:10, 15 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It certainly looks like one is viewing the north entrance into Franconia Notch, though I can't figure out what the water body in the foreground would be. (Did he just make it up?) However, the image is all over the internet (artchive.com, albertbierstadt.org, museumsyndicate.com) as "Mt. Washington". I could not find it labeled anywhere as Mt. Lafayette. Do you have access to a definitive catalog of Bierstadt's works? Is it possible that the painting has been mis-identified from the beginning as Mt. Washington?--Ken Gallager (talk) 14:17, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I guess my point is that unless someone can find a published source that says it's Lafayette, it should not be moved to the Mount Lafayette article, because that would constitute original research. I would support removing it from the Mount Washington article, though.--Ken Gallager (talk) 14:28, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
This is a sensitive subject. Yes, the literature had given this painting the title of Mount Washington because, in my opinion, the owner thought it was Mount Washington and gave it this title. The owner wants to believe it is Mount Washington. But, as you can see, it's Lafayette from the west looking east. You can see Eagle Cliff. You can see Lafayette Ravine. You can see Bald Mountain. This is something I encounter all the time, especially with White Mountain paintings. Someone wants this to be a subject that's more popular than the one he has! I know you are knowledgeable about the area, so do you believe it's Washington from any vantage point? It should definitely be removed from this article. I have not read the stuff on Original Research. What would I need to do to get this image properly identified once and for all? JJHenderson (talk) 23:33, 16 January 2010 (UTC). Sorry, try this signature. JJ (talk) 23:37, 16 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Ken. Please compare the Bierstadt to this image of Mount Lafayette, albeit from a closer vantage point: http://whitemountainart.com/OnePageImages/lafayette_sph001.htm. JJ (talk) 00:08, 17 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Ken. I need to e-mail you a Google Earth image of the Bierstadt scene. Can you give me your e-mail address? Thanks. JJ (talk) 00:01, 18 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Hi again. As I stated above, I'm in full agreement with you that the painting is of Mount Lafayette. My hesitation has to do with how it has come to be known as Mount Washington. Is there any information on where the original painting is housed? Museum? Private collection? --Ken Gallager (talk) 15:09, 19 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Here is the publication history and how titles can change -- even between well-respected publications.
Antiques Magazine Vol CII, no. 3, September 1972
The Gordon-Banks House in the Georgia piedmont by Katherine Gross Farnham, Curator of Decforative Arts, High Museum of Art. Page 445 plate # XI the painting is pictured and listed as "Landscape by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), 1862, thought to be a view of Mt. Chocorua in New Hampshire." Oil on canvas, 36 x 58 inches. Photograph by courtesy of M. Knodler and Co.
Then in 1980 in the book
Albert Bierstadt: Art& Enterprise published by The Brooklyn Museum 1990. Pictured on page 31 Figure 8, "Albert Bierstadt, Mount Washington," 1862. Oil on canvas, 36 x 58 in.
JJ (talk) 14:07, 22 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]