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Seth Eastman

Great Canyon, River Gila, ca. 1853

Description

Maker

  • Seth Eastman, 1808-1875, American

Title

Great Canyon, River Gila

Year

ca. 1853

Medium

Watercolor with scraping and graphite on paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • watercolor

Dimensions

Image/Sheet: 31.9 x 24.1 cm (12 9/16 x 9 1/2 inches)

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Gift of the Rhode Island School of Design Library

Object Number

47.112.9

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Tradition and Innovation in American Watercolors

January 27 - April 11, 1999

This work is part of a series of drawings ordered by Providence-born bibliophile and Chief Commissioner of the United States John Russell Bartlett to illustrate his recent attempts to establish an official border with Mexico. Eastman painted the works after Bartlett's travel sketches, not on site. Note the two surveyors with equipment in the lower right, a reference to Bartlett's project. Eastman's topographical knowledge provided the perfect adjunct to Bartlett's on-site realism. Through his skillful handling of watercolor, he captured the unique coloration of the landscape -- pinks, creams, ochres, warm browns, lavenders -- and the landscape's clear, dry light and spaciousness.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Great Canyon, River Gila with the accession number of 47.112.9. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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