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Lot Essay
A rare cityscape of mid-nineteenth century New Orleans, this watercolor depicts the turning basin of the New Basin Canal and in fine detail, the surrounding businesses and city life. The canal was completed in 1838 and for almost a century was a vital transportation link between the 1st District and the outlying cypress swamps, which provided lumber for the city’s burgeoning building industry. As seen here, the turning basin was a center of economic activity. Wooden planks and bundles of goods are seen in large quantities on the moored boats and docks, while a variety of businesses—from sale lofts to apothecaries and a ten pin bowling alley—occupy the surrounding streets. The whole is populated by a variety of figures reflecting the diversity of the city’s inhabitants. In the foreground, a group of Native Americans congregate and several African-Americans are nearby, most likely workers in the trade of goods. As identified by “St. Charles Hot” above, the large building in the background just to the left of the seam appears to represent the second building of the St. Charles Hotel. The first burned in January 1851 and the second, which lacked the large cupola that adorned the earlier structure, opened in 1853. For more on the canal, see Richard Campanella, “Before I-10, the New Basin Canal flowed through New Orleans,” Preservation in Print (November 2019), available at prcno.org, accessed November 28, 2022.
Signed J.M. Steiger, this work was rendered by Swiss artist Johann Martin Steiger (1829-1899). Born in Herisau in northeastern Switzerland, Steiger pursued a manufacturing career, which took him to Belgium and America for a period of ten years during the middle of the century. He was back in Herisau by 1859 when he married Anna Zölper and two years later founded an embroidery factory. In later years, he held numerous political and civic posts and in 1892 removed to Bern where he was a coal merchant. Alongside his professional pursuits, he was also an avid painter, particularly known for his watercolors and landscapes, including views of the Alps. Thomas Fuchs, “Johann Martin Steiger,“ Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (DHS), version dated 07.11.2012, translated by Gabrielle Rivier, available online at https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/006895/2012-11-07/, accessed November 28, 2022. See also, Otto Frehner, “Johann Martin Steiger-Zölper von Herisau, Fabrikant und Kunstmaler, 1829-1899,“ Appenzeller Kalender (1951), available at https://doi.org/10.5169/seals-375422, accessed November 28, 2022.
Steiger can be documented in New Orleans in 1851 and 1852, when he appears in local newspapers as the recipient of letters held at the post office and noted to owe freight charges (The New Orleans Crescent, 22 August 1851, p. 1; Times-Picayune, 27 February 1852, p. 4; New-Orleans Commercial Bulletin, 4 November 1851, p. 1).
Signed J.M. Steiger, this work was rendered by Swiss artist Johann Martin Steiger (1829-1899). Born in Herisau in northeastern Switzerland, Steiger pursued a manufacturing career, which took him to Belgium and America for a period of ten years during the middle of the century. He was back in Herisau by 1859 when he married Anna Zölper and two years later founded an embroidery factory. In later years, he held numerous political and civic posts and in 1892 removed to Bern where he was a coal merchant. Alongside his professional pursuits, he was also an avid painter, particularly known for his watercolors and landscapes, including views of the Alps. Thomas Fuchs, “Johann Martin Steiger,“ Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (DHS), version dated 07.11.2012, translated by Gabrielle Rivier, available online at https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/006895/2012-11-07/, accessed November 28, 2022. See also, Otto Frehner, “Johann Martin Steiger-Zölper von Herisau, Fabrikant und Kunstmaler, 1829-1899,“ Appenzeller Kalender (1951), available at https://doi.org/10.5169/seals-375422, accessed November 28, 2022.
Steiger can be documented in New Orleans in 1851 and 1852, when he appears in local newspapers as the recipient of letters held at the post office and noted to owe freight charges (The New Orleans Crescent, 22 August 1851, p. 1; Times-Picayune, 27 February 1852, p. 4; New-Orleans Commercial Bulletin, 4 November 1851, p. 1).