Niagara, located on the homeland of the Iroquois, is among one of the great natural wonders in North America. Beginning in the late 17th century, the site became a popular but challenging subject for European artists. By the 1850s, many American artists began traveling there to try to capture Niagara’s beauty and grandeur themselves. The site itself was also a symbol of national strength, vigor and promise. Indeed, American artists of the period used the exceptional vastness and “wildness” of places like Niagara and the American landscape at large as the most defining and impressive characteristic of their artistic identity and vision.

The American and European public was captivated by the natural wonder of Niagara Falls. It was a landmark of the North American landscape, a major tourist destination and "Honeymoon Capital of the World." Prints of Niagara were often given as wedding gifts. In the 1850s, Niagara was the subject of millions of stereographs and its image could be found on wallpaper, china, and lampshades, among other consumer items. In 1853, a 1600-foot moving panorama of Niagara Falls was exhibited in New York City. All of this is to say that there was tremendous interest in and demand for images of the Falls.

The artist of this painting Niagara is unknown, but he clearly demonstrated tremendous skill and dexterity in this work. The fact that it is unsigned might mean it was a large oil study that was intended as a visual aid for a larger painting. What the painting is not is one of the thousands of touristy and mediocre images that circulated of the site. The landscape is painted with sensitivity, accuracy, and technical expertise. The high degree of finish and beautiful calligraphic date shows a level of seriousness about the work. It is very much an important and carefully painted landscape of a hugely popular American site.