View of the Highlands and Sandy Hook

Artist E. A. Spinning

Period1892 - 1893

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOther: 13.5 × 16.5 in. (34.3 × 41.9 cm)

InscribedInscribed lower left, "Sketched / Oct. 6 '92 / Sept. 5 '93."

SignedSigned lower left, "E. A. Spinning."

ClassificationsLandscapes & Still Life

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Henry G. Gulick, 2017

Object number2017.2.2

DescriptionAn early fall view looking east from near the present high ground location of Eastpointe condominiums toward Highlands showing much open farmland in the middle distance. The edge of the Highlands of Navesink appears on the right with the village of Highlands at its foot and on the lower slope. Sandy Hook Bay appears in the distance, with Sandy Hook and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Small and large sailing vessels appear on the water, with a steamboat in the bay on the left. A red and white striped navigational range light appears on the shoreline on the extreme left. The farmstead in the left middle distance features a Dutch barn. The day was clear with a bright blue sky and puffy white clouds. The painting is in its original silver-gilt frame enhanced with bands of cast plaster ornament. A coat of gold radiator paint has been applied to it. Losses to the plaster ornament in the lower right.
Curatorial RemarksThis unusual view depicts the north side of the Highlands while the area between it and Atlantic Highlands remained farmland.NotesThe artist may be Edith A. Spinning of Red Bank, Monmouth County. She was born on 27 May 1872, a daughter of Benjamin W. Spinning and Amelia A. Patterson. She married Alvin A. Whiting, and was active in Grace Methodist Church, Red Bank. Edith Spinning Whiting died after a skating accident that required surgery on 11 February 1917, leaving her husband and a son, A. Arthur Whiting. Benjamin Spinning (1837 - 1896) was a prominent merchant in Red Bank, a partner in the firm of Morford and Spinning, and later Spinning and Patterson. After his death, his widow remained a partner in a dry goods business.

Collections

ProvenancePurchased in the early 1980s by the donor at the Red Bank Antiques Center, Red Bank, NJ.