The Battery

Frederick Leo Hunter (1858-1943)

Oil on Canvas

1915

unframed 20" x 30" x 1/2"

Framed 27" x 37" x 1.5"

$5,800

This view of The Battery shows New York City's historic Castle Gardens.. Built as a fort beginning in 1808, when it wasn't yet attached to Manhattan, Castle Gardens became Ellis Islands predisessor as New York City's main immigration entry point from 1855-1890. It then had a long life as New York City's Aquarium from 1896-1941. Today it stands as a national monument.

Known for street scene paintings and etchings of New York City as well as coastal marine views on both sides of the Long Island Sound, Frederick Hunter lived north of the city in Ossining and Cold Spring-on-Hudson. Exhibition venues included the National Academy of Design, 1881-86; Brooklyn Art Association, 1881-86; and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1881-82, 1884.

Artist Bio

Frederick Leo Hunter (1858–1943) was an American artist renowned for his evocative watercolor and oil paintings of New York City street scenes, coastal marine views, and the landscapes surrounding the Hudson Valley and Long Island Sound. Born in New York City, Hunter spent much of his life in Ossining and Cold Spring on Hudson, drawing inspiration from the bustling harbors, city streets, and tranquil vistas that defined early 20th-century urban and maritime life.

Hunter’s work is characterized by its keen sense of atmosphere and attention to detail, often depicting tall masted ships, harbors, and everyday figures engaged in work along the water’s edge. His paintings, such as "The Old East India Wharf, South Street, New York, N.Y." (1882), are admired for their authenticity and delicate handling of light and weather. Hunter’s scenes from New York and New England are highly sought after by collectors and continue to appear in museum holdings and fine art auctions, reflecting his enduring influence on American realist and maritime painting.