Dodge MacKnight (Providence, 1860 - 1950, Sandwich, Massachusetts)
Towering Castles, Grand Canyon, 1914
Watercolor on paper, 45 x 53 cm (17 11/16 x 20 7/8 in.)
This watercolor painting depicts a landscape scene from the Grand Canyon. To our right, the rocky ground slopes upward in shades purple, orange, tan and green. Some low green bushes are visible in the lower corner to our right. Other canyons are depicted in paler blue and lavender colors to our left. Clouds are visible in the pale blue sky.
Macknight Room
Commentary
Dodge Macknight painted this watercolor of the Grand Canyon in Arizona in 1914, five years before the area was made into a National Park. Part of a series, “Towering Castles” was exhibited in Boston at the art gallery Doll and Richards, where Isabella purchased it. She toured the American West by train in 1881, and this watercolor likely reminded her of the majestic landscapes she saw on her trip. Over the course of her friendship with Dodge Macknight, Isabella acquired eleven of his paintings and named the Macknight Room after him.