(American, 1804-1865) CASTING FROM HOSPITAL ISLAND color lithograph; published by L.H. Bradford & Co.'s Lith.; image: 19 3/4 x 32 3/4 inches; executed in 1855 Note: According to John Wilmerding, this lithograph was published by fitz Hugh Lane's oldest friend and executor of his estate, Joseph L. Stevens, Jr.. Lane often visited the Stevens family home in Castine, Maine. Castine is "...situated on a hillside at the end of a narrow peninsula extending into the northern part of Penobscot bay. The Stevens house was some distance up from the waterfront and afforded a fine view of the marine activity there and in the bay beyond." Wilmerding further states that"Lane's most accomplished graphic work,Castine from Hospital Island, dated from 1855. Printed in several colors, it was one of his largest plate and is by far the most poetic and sophisticated of all his lithographs. In it he has caught the steely blue of the Maine summer atmosphere, the quiet charm of one of the states most picturesque coastal towns, and the sense of love that crossing light can bestow on nature's favored places." (wilmerding, v.i., pp. 30-31, 52). Provenance: The Old Print Shop, New York Literature: cf. John Wilmerding, Fitz Hugh Lane (New York, Praeger's Publishers. 1971), pp. 30-31, 52; fig. 21, illus.