Map Source: David Vaughan, Map of the State of New-York Showing its Water and Rail Road Lines., Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, DC, 1855.
Sanford Gifford, like many Hudson River School artists, maintained a studio in New York City for most of the year but worked upstate on the Hudson River during the summer. A long-time resident of the town of Hudson, Gifford built a classical-revival studio on top of his family's residence in 1870. The name Belvedere refers to a common architectural feature on Roman villas that allows a spectacular view of surrounding scenery.