Niagara Falls in the Mist. 60 x 130.

The falls create their own weather, and a drenching mist fills the
basin below the curve of the lip. When I set myself to paint the
scene, I tried to convey the immensity of the falling water dimly and
partially seen through the welter, with the rushing water nearby and
the trees hanging over the edge in immediate brightness and clarity,
helping to give some scale to the scene. In a way, I used the devices
of the Chinese landscape painters, rather than those of the European
or American, to show the scale, the grandeur and the mystery of the
place.At another time, Wilson wrote:
Any landscape painter with
sand in his craw must want to try to paint Niagara. We went up in
October. October, of course, is the clearest month everywhere in the
northern hemisphere. It rained so hard for so long that I finally
lost patience and told my wife, Roz, there are only two types of
painters who paint Niagara: lucky ones and wet ones. Here is Niagara
in the rain with just a passing shaft of sunlight illuminating the
massive cataract through the mist. The whole world is shaking from
the thunder of falling water.

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