Mono Pass, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

Artist William Keith American, born Great Britain, 1839–1911

Date1877

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions40 x 72 in. (101.6 x 182.9 cm)
Frame: 47 3/4 x 79 3/4 in. (121.3 x 202.6 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the State of North Carolina

Object number52.9.20

On View

On view

Provenance**Created United States, 1877; collection of the artist. [Williams and Everett Gallery, Boston, 1878] [1]. [John Nicholson Gallery, New York]; sold to NCMA, 1952.

[1] Label removed from reverse of stretcher: "M. C. M. A. EXHIBITION, 1878./FINE-ART DEPARTMENT/No. 50/Title Mona Pass Sierra Nevada C[al.]/Artist Wm.Keith/[Owner]" " (artist)/[Return t]o W & E./Price $1000.00 ("1" marked over with "5", suggesting price correction to $5000.00)
Alfred C. Harrison, Jr., noting that Keith used Williams & Everett Gallery as his agent in Boston, suggests that the picture was sold through them to an East Coast collector (see letter 7/27/90).
Published References"Local Art, Recent Work of Some San Francisco Artists," San Francisco Chronicle (September 30, 1877), 1.

"Art Jottings," San Francisco News Letter and California Advertiser (October 20, 1877), 12.

"Palette and Brush," (review of San Francisco Art Association exhibition) The Portico (November 17, 1877), 54-55, discussed 55.

W. R. Valentiner, Catalogue of Paintings: Including Three Sets of Tapestries (Raleigh: North Carolina, 1956), no. 23.

American Paintings to 1900: Catalogue of Paintings, Vol. 1, 2nd ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1966), no. 35, illus. (b-w).

Nina Kasanof, "American Landscapes of the 19th Century in the North Carolina Museum of Art," North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 8, no. 4 (June 1969), 2-15, discussed 9, illus. (b-w) fig. 9.

American Paintings from the Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art (brochure) (Charlotte: Mint Museum of Art, 1975), no. 23.

American Paintings from the Permanent Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art (exhibition catalogue) (Asheville: Asheville Art Museum, 1976), listed 18, illus. (b-w) 19.

Introduction to the Collections, rev. ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1992), illus. (b-w) 238.

Exhibition HistorySan Francisco, CA, Mechanics' Institute, "Twelfth Industrial Exhibition: Art Department," August 1877, no. 577 (as Bloody Canyon, Mono Pass).

San Francisco, CA, San Francisco Art Association, "Twelfth Exhibition," October-November 1877, no. 98 (as Mono Pass, Eastern Flank of the Sierra).

[Boston, MA, Williams & Everett Gallery, 1878?]

Boston, MA, Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, "Thirteenth Exhibition," 1878, no. 191 (as Mona [sic] Pass, Sierra Nevada Mts., Cal.).

Winston-Salem, NC, Salem College, Fine Arts Center, "A Selection from Major North Carolina Museums," September 22-29, 1974.

Charlotte, NC, Mint Museum of Art, "American Paintings from the Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art," September 7-October 19, 1975, no. 23.

Asheville, NC, Asheville Art Museum, "American Paintings from the Permanent Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art," May 16-June 27, 1976, listed 18, illus. (b-w) 19.

Wilmington, NC, Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, "18th and 19th Century American Art from the Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art," June 20, 2003-February 22, 2004.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, Highlights of the American Collection, February 15-August 2, 2009.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

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