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Watercolor, "Montgomery Place shore seat". Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Preside…
Watercolor, "Montgomery Place shore seat". Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Alexander Jackson Davis Sketchbook
Watercolor, "Montgomery Place shore seat". Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Preside…
Watercolor, "Montgomery Place shore seat". Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Alexander Jackson Davis Sketchbook

Artifact IDMO 1942.214
Object Type Sketchbook
Artist (American architect and printmaker, 1803-1892)
Dateca. 1830-1850
Mediumleather, metal (gold leaf), paper, pencil, paint (watercolor)
Dimensionsoverall (closed) H 6 in x W 7 7/8 in x D 7/8 in (15.2 cm x 20 cm x 2.2 cm )
 overall (open) H 6 in x W 15 3/4 in (15.2 cm x 40 cm )
Physical DescriptionA leather-bound sketchbook containing original pencil and watercolor sketches by Alexander Jackson Davis. The images – only some of which are titled or captioned – generally depict homes, buildings, and landscapes, a number of which are in the Hudson Valley and the surrounding area. An inscription handwritten in pencil on the title page reads: Sketch Book of Alex J. Davis / Sketches in color - 13 / pencil - 8 / loose mounted 22 / 43. Included in the sketchbook are Hudson Valley views of Montgomery Place, Blithewood, Zabriskie Falls, Kenwood, and locations along the Hudson River. The sketchbook also contains a watercolor of Wildmont, the home of the Alexander Jackson Davis in Llewellyn Park, New Jersey. The manufacturer of the sketchbook is found on the interior front cover: DELARUE CORNISH & ROCK.

Pencil sketches that are labeled by the artist are:
-“No 1"
-"A B Tide[?] counter right / other proportion right / Bay window"
-"elm oak / yellow orange red near house elm tree bridge / green"
-"View from Mansion House Northampton"
-“Looking south above fort mountain”
-“Jas. Thompson country seat, near Rhinebeck”
-"View of Armstrong Seat. Up Hudson and from Verplanck's"
-"West Point N.R."
-"Ravine walk / all hemlocks"
-"Parliament House York U C / center little longer"
-"rich foliage in brick / land very dark / (S. below Cohoes View)"
-"Seneca Lake South / two points bright blue - mountain Antwerp blue pole (sky distinct / indian red & blue) / Genessee"
-“gothic lodge plate 145[?] in Repton”

Watercolor paintings that are labeled by the artist are:
-"Dark reflection"
-“Looking south down river opposite Fort Montgomery”
-"Anthony's Nose. Fort Montgomery opposite"
-"Top of Blue Hill Quincy Mass."
-"Montgomery Place shore seat"
-"Gatehouse Blithewood"
-"M. Place"
-"Montgomery Place"
-"West Point"
-"DOWN above Poughkeepsie / UP. CATT-SKILL"
-"Entrance to Highlands from below Peekskill"
-"Davis del. / Geo. P. Morris, Undercliff"

There are an additional thirteen loose images currently stored in a separate envelope (8 pencil sketches and 5 watercolors), including:
-"Shakspeer's [sic] temple at Garrick's house"
-Handwritten quote from Buliver's "Coming Race"
-" State Cap Ind. made for Bank note"
-"Cahoo's [Cohoes] Falls"
-“Near Coohoos [Cohoes] falls / "Town's Bridge"

Historical NoteThis undated sketchbook contains watercolors and pencil drawings by Alexander Jackson Davis (1803-1892), one of the most prominent American architects of the nineteenth century.

Davis began his career in New York illustrating various buildings in the northeastern United States. In 1829, he started his first architectural firm, Town & Davis, with partner Ithiel Town, and then later opened his own firm. As one of the most prolific American architects of the nineteenth century, Davis designed buildings all over the US, including government buildings, commercial buildings, churches, and private homes. He favored Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, and Italianate styles. He also designed interior elements and even furniture.

Franklin D. Roosevelt purchased the sketchbook in February 1942—two months after Pearl Harbor and amid some of the darkest weeks of World War II.

This acquisition illustrates two important things about Franklin Roosevelt. He had an extraordinary ability to compartmentalize his life—using hobbies and personal interests to help himself manage the many stresses of the presidency. And he had an abiding love of and interest in the history, landscape, and culture of the Hudson River Valley.

Shortly after purchasing the Davis sketchbook, FDR shipped it to his distant cousin, Margaret “Daisy” Suckley, an archivist at the Roosevelt Library, to be added to his collection of Hudson River Valley art and artifacts. “I bought this several days ago,” he wrote Suckley, “and it should go to the Dutchess County collection as a loan. Some of the watercolors are really lovely.”

Additional Details
Custodial History NoteLent to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 11, 1942. Deposited at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 14, 1942. It was donated as a bequest of FDR to the Library in 1947.
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesHudson River Valley Materials (National Archives Identifier 778818)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view
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