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Notes: Note: Born at Hillsdale, NY, and briefly trained under the local painter Henry Ary in the nearby town of Hudson, Bristol‹an artist sufficiently brilliant in the study of nature to be essentially self-trained‹began to attract notice and supportive patrons with his first submissions to the National Academy of Design in 1858. A Brooklyn client, Jacob B. Murray, acquired one of his first New Jersey Landscapes; and at least two New York collectors, Cyrus Butler and William E. Dodge, Jr., purchased major paintings resulting from Bristol's trip to the St. John's River area in eastern Florida in 1859. It is interesting to note that a previous owner of this painting, R. Hosea, purchased a major painting by William Merritt Chase in 1917. Both Tuckerman in 1867 and Sheldon in 1878 refer to the paintings owned by Butler and Dodge as "semi-tropical pictures." The paintings from this adventurous expedition brought Bristol full professional recognition: he was elected an Associate of the National Academy in 1860, with full Academician status in 1875, and he married and moved permanently to New York in 1862. Bristol is recorded in the 1850 United States Census in Hillsdale, NY, with his profession listed as "Artist." In the 1900 census, his residence is in Manhattan. Other than these two references, there are few records pertaining to Bristol. He frequently traveled and painted throughout the New England countryside during the summer months, which could account for his lack of presence on the 1860-1890 censuses, as they were usually taken between June and August. Bristol's travels outside of the Northeast United States, if they occurred, are undocumented. Other than his trip to Florida, Bristol is not known with certainty to have traveled anywhere south of New Jersey. However, an 1867 passenger list for the ship The Eagle reports John Bristol, age 40, born in New York, returning to the United States from Cuba through the port of New York City. The semi-tropical landscape presented here may reflect visits by Bristol to Cuba and Florida. References: Sheldon, George W. American Painters. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1881. Tuckerman, Henry T. Book of the Artists. New York: G. Putnam and Son, 1867. American Art Galleries Sale, New York, "The Paintings and Other Artistic Property Left by the Late William Merritt Chase, N.A.," May 15-16, 1917, no.