A Bit of Cherry Valley

This is an original oil on canvas painting by American 19th century painter, James Mcdougal Hart.  This work is titled: A Bit of Cherry Valley.  It is signed lower left "J.M Hart"  It came to us in a period gilt frame with the brass name plate.  The painting itself measures 17X21 inches, the overall frame measures 24X29 inches.  Influenced by his older brother, William M. Hart, and with him is highly regarded as an important member of the second generation of Hudson River School landscape painters. Hart's family came to America in 1831,  After the 1870s, he and his brother William opened studios in Keene Valley, NY, in the heart of the Adirondacks. James' paintings often feature cows watering amidst an idyllic summer landscape.  Cherry Valley is a town in Otsego County, New York,