New York Harbor from the Battery 1829

Thomas Thompson created “New York Harbor from the Battery,” an evocative watercolor, at a time when New York was rapidly transforming into a major port city. The painting provides a window into the social dynamics of the era, capturing a moment of leisure among New York’s elite, who are seen strolling along the Battery, a popular public space. But, look closer. What isn't shown? The prosperity on display here was inextricably linked to the maritime industry, including the trade in enslaved people and goods produced by enslaved labor. The port was a site of both arrival and departure, of freedom and unfreedom. The ships in the harbor, symbols of commerce and connection, also remind us of the complex and often brutal exchanges that shaped the city’s identity. Thompson’s painting invites us to reflect on the narratives that are both present and absent in depictions of historical landscapes, and to consider the personal and collective histories that are woven into the fabric of our surroundings.