Capri

Among Haseltine's most frequently depicted European subjects, the rocky shores of Capri, located in the Bay of Naples, captivated the artist during his first visit in 1858. Haseltine returned again in 1865 before making subsequent trips throughout the late 1860s and 1870s following his permanent settlement in Europe. "To virtually all the European exhibitions in which he participated he sent paintings of Capri...Images of the site were popular with patrons...The fascination with phenomena like natural bridges and arches was part of the nineteenth-century obsession with geology and conjured images of divinity in nature." (A. Henderson, "Haseltine in Rome," in Expressions of Place: The Art of William Stanley Haseltine, exhibition catalogue, San Francisco, California, 1992, pp. 42-43)