view no.21, The Clermont at Livingston Manor

Watercolor on Linen / 14“ X 20”

The 160,000-acre Livingston Manor acquired by Robert Livingston the Elder in 1683 from the Mohicans, was among the first large transfers of Native American land to the new comers. By 1700 the entire valley was in European hands. The Clermont mansion begun in 1740, was the home of seven generations of the wealthy Livingston family.

Its most notable resident was Robert Livingston Jr. who was its builder, and who participated in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. He also negotiated the Louisiana Purchase. He collaborated with Robert Fulton in the design, development, and financing of the first steamboat to ply the Hudson River in 1823.