Carter's Tavern at the Head of Lake George

between 1817 and 1818

Francis Guy American, 1760-1820

On View

American, Level 2, West Wing

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About the Artwork

Carter's Tavern at the Head of Lake George offers a window onto an early moment in the history of tourism in the United States. Before railroads, waterways provided an economical way to transport raw materials and finished goods in the interior of North America. The most important of these routes was the one linking New York City with Montreal by way of the Hudson River, Lake George, Lake Champlain, and the St. Lawrence River.

Carter’s Tavern was opened to serve business travelers. But look closely at the figures in the painting. Some of the men might be traveling merchants. But what of the three women standing near the tavern sign, and the man and woman in the center foreground? These well-dressed figures are early American tourists — people with the money and leisure to travel for pleasure in search of new experiences and picturesque views.

Title Carter's Tavern at the Head of Lake George

Artwork Date between 1817 and 1818

Artist Francis Guy

Life Dates 1760-1820

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Unframed: 39 3/4 × 66 1/4 inches (101 × 168.3 cm) Framed: 49 5/8 × 75 1/4 × 3 3/4 inches (126 × 191.1 × 9.5 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department American Art before 1950

Credit Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, Gibbs-Williams Fund, and the Merrill Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 68.39

Markings

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Provenance

1822, the artist's heirs;
William McNeil (Tappan, New York, USA);
1967, (Kennedy Galleries, New York, New York, USA);
1968-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

"An American Survey: Paintings From Two Centuries." The Kennedy Quarterly 7, no. 1 (March 1967): pp. 21-22 (cover ill.).

Hood, Graham, Kathleen Pyne, and Nancy Rivard. "American Paintings Acquired during the Last Decade." Bulletin of the DIA 55, no. 2 (1977): pp. 69-108.

Colwill, Stiles Cuttle. Francis Guy 1760-1820. Exh. cat., Maryland Historical Society. Baltimore, 1981, p. 78.

Nygren, Edward J., et al. Views and Visions: American Landscape before 1830. Exh. cat., Wadsworth Atheneum. Hartford, Connecticut, 1986, p. 215, (pl. 156).

Shaw, Nancy Rivard, et al. American Paintings in the Detroit Institute of Arts. Vol. 1, Works by Artists Born Before 1816. New York, 1991, pp. 106-108; p. 107, cat. no. 43, (color repr.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

This work is in the public domain.

Francis Guy, Carter's Tavern at the Head of Lake George, between 1817 and 1818, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, Gibbs-Williams Fund, and the Merrill Fund, 68.39.