| Date: | 1884 |
| Medium: | oil on canvas |
| Size: | 30 x 20 in. (76 x 51 cm) |
| Inscription: | l/l "FSchafer 84.", initials conjoined in a monogram, in the artist's characteristic block-letter hand |
| Verso: | l/l "Ev. on Castle Rock / Columbia River" |
| Provenance: | private collection, Live Oak, California, from c. 1890; by descent in 1950 to private collection, Marin county, California. |
| Citations: | Personal communications with the owner, January 2002 |
| Site: | Standing on the North (Washington) side of the Columbia River looking West along the river, toward Beacon Rock. The geographic feature in the painting was named "Beacon Rock" by Lewis and Clark in 1805, but it was known as "Castle Rock" from 1811 until 1916, when the United States Board of Geographic Names restored the "Beacon Rock" name. [Meany, Edmond C., Origins of Washington Geographic Names, page 40] |
| Note: | (1) The measured size is reported to be 30.25 by 20 inches. (2) The bright coral sky is probably an accurate depiction, the result of the explosive eruption of Krakatoa Island, Indonesia in November of the previous year. The effect on sunsets around the world is described in Simkin, T. and R. S. Fiske, Krakatau, 1883, pages 395-407. (3) The painting was restored in 2002 by Jeanne McKee. |
| Legend: | The present owner's father (born 1890) and aunt (born 1886) commented in 1950 that the painting had been "in the house (built 1883) in the same spot on a parlor wall all their life." The house was built by the owner's grandparents in 1878. This report suggests strongly that the painting has been in the hands of the family since around 1890. |
| In index(es): | Title list, Columbia River scenes, dated paintings |
![[photo]](../smalls/p/img0757.jpg)