{"id":7857,"date":"2021-03-12T11:52:52","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T11:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/?p=7857"},"modified":"2021-03-13T14:51:08","modified_gmt":"2021-03-13T14:51:08","slug":"sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cAugust 22, 2015. 11:00 AM. View of Monument Valley, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Both the high peaks of the Kaaterskill-Katzenbergs (are visible). in the distance from Beartown State Forest\u2014scenic overlook\u2014scenic overlook is accessible by a vertiginous rocky path\u201d–Journal entry inscribed on the lower left<\/p>\n

Rising above the Housatonic River at less than half the elevation of Mount Greylock, Monument Mountain (1,642 feet above sea-level) is also entangled in the history of American letters.
\nA frequent visitor to the mountain was Great Barrington poet William Cullen Bryant, who wrote,<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a fearful thing
\nTo stand upon the beetling verge, and see
\nWhere storm and lightning, from that huge gray wall,
\nHave tumbled down vast blocks, and at the base
\nDashed them in fragments, and to lay thine ear
\nOver the dizzy depth, and hear the sound
\nOf winds, that struggle with the woods below,
\nCome up like ocean murmurs. But the scene
\nIs lovely round; a beautiful river there
\nWanders amid the fresh and fertile meads,
\nThe paradise he made unto himself,
\nMining the soil for ages. On each side
\nThe fields swell upward to the hills; beyond,
\nAbove the hills, in the blue distance, rise
\nThe mighty columns with which earth props heaven.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

W.C. Bryant. Monument Mountain (excerpt) 1815.<\/p>\n

Bryant was not the only luminary who drew inspiration from its scenic views of the Housatonic Valley. On August 5, 1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville hiked to the summit with Oliver Wendell Holmes and Stockbridge lawyer David Dudley, Jr. According to legend, a bottle of champagne was uncorked and Bryant\u2019s poem was read aloud. By whom I cannot say.
\nCaught in a sudden deluge, the party found shelter in a cave. Following their meeting under these extraordinary circumstances, Hawthorne and Melville embarked on a brief but stimulating correspondence that helped shape the literary trajectories of both authors. Melville dedicated his novel Moby Dick to Hawthorne, whom he regarded as a something of a mentor.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nHerman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne, ca 1850-1852<\/p>\n

Monument Mountain appears in the distance to the left in this view of the Housatonic (Monument) Valley, with the northern Catskills serrating the western skyline. The goal of a \u00a0 journal-painting is never to produce a finished product, but to employ the practice of painting as an act reconnaissance; a mode of learning what is beheld, in ways that transform experience into knowledge and ideas. Somewhere between picturing something and truly knowing it is where art abides.<\/p>\n

Now available to own: Sketchbook Traveler: Hudson Valley
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Explore my Quaranteam Dispatches<\/a>, from April 1-June 8, 2020
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAugust 22, 2015. 11:00 AM. View of Monument Valley, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Both the high peaks of the Kaaterskill-Katzenbergs (are visible). in the distance from Beartown State Forest\u2014scenic overlook\u2014scenic overlook is accessible by a vertiginous rocky path\u201d–Journal entry inscribed on the lower left Rising above the Housatonic River at less than half the elevation of … Continue reading SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nSKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cAugust 22, 2015. 11:00 AM. View of Monument Valley, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Both the high peaks of the Kaaterskill-Katzenbergs (are visible). in the distance from Beartown State Forest\u2014scenic overlook\u2014scenic overlook is accessible by a vertiginous rocky path\u201d–Journal entry inscribed on the lower left Rising above the Housatonic River at less than half the elevation of … Continue reading SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-12T11:52:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-13T14:51:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Monument-MT-1-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James L. Mcelhinney\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James L. Mcelhinney\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"James L. Mcelhinney\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988\"},\"headline\":\"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-12T11:52:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-13T14:51:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/\"},\"wordCount\":427,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Monument-MT-1-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Dispatches\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/\",\"name\":\"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Monument-MT-1-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-12T11:52:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-13T14:51:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Monument-MT-1-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Monument-MT-1-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":814},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988\",\"name\":\"James L. Mcelhinney\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/author\/admin002\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley -","og_description":"\u201cAugust 22, 2015. 11:00 AM. View of Monument Valley, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Both the high peaks of the Kaaterskill-Katzenbergs (are visible). in the distance from Beartown State Forest\u2014scenic overlook\u2014scenic overlook is accessible by a vertiginous rocky path\u201d–Journal entry inscribed on the lower left Rising above the Housatonic River at less than half the elevation of … Continue reading SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley →","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/","article_published_time":"2021-03-12T11:52:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-13T14:51:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Monument-MT-1-scaled.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"James L. Mcelhinney","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James L. Mcelhinney","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/"},"author":{"name":"James L. Mcelhinney","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988"},"headline":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley","datePublished":"2021-03-12T11:52:52+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-13T14:51:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/"},"wordCount":427,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Monument-MT-1-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Dispatches"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/","name":"SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER. Dispatch #90. Monument Mountain. Housatonic Valley -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Monument-MT-1-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-03-12T11:52:52+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-13T14:51:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/sketchbook-raveler-dispatch-90-monument-mountain-housatonic-valley\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Monument-MT-1-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Monument-MT-1-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":814},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/#\/schema\/person\/a84ee3e94a50ad6214a495bf690a8988","name":"James L. Mcelhinney","url":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/author\/admin002\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8rJt5-22J","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7857"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7870,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7857\/revisions\/7870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcelhinneyart.com\/jlmcelhinney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}