The Maid of the Mist beneath Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls, Canada

Frederic Edwin Church, American, 1826–1900 · September 1858

Landscape sketch showing a view of Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian bank of the Niagara River, featuring the Maid of the Mist below the falls at center left. Dominating the view, the falls expand horizontally across the composition as voluminous amounts of water cascade over the edge and create plumes of mist below. At center left, the Maid of the Mist, with its single, tall smokestack, is viewed from the rear as it floats beneath the falls. The tumultuous waters of the Niagara River extend from the foreground to the base of falls in the middle distance. In the background at right, the outline of the river's heavily wooded southern bank is faintly shown.