Treasured Landscapes

Elizabeth A. Rockwell
ca. 1878

Elizabeth Rockwell spent her formative years in New York and Vermont before moving to California. This painting was one of the more than 50 works commissioned to decorate the San Francisco Bay ferry Bay City in 1878. The paintings were published in a catalog, allowing travelers to walk about the ferry, catalog in hand, and enjoy the scenic landscapes in the floating art gallery. The views were of a variety of places, in particular, California, the Hudson River, and Hawai'i.

Oil on sheet steel and masonite. H 42, W 130 cm
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, SAFR 3774