Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Conn.

ArchitectDesigned by Henry Austin American, 1804 - 1891

PrinterPrinted by E.B. & E.C. Kellogg American, 1840 - 1867

PublisherPublished by E.B. & E.C. Kellogg American, 1840 - 1867

Date1847

MediumLithography and letterpress printing; printer's ink on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 8 7/16 x 11in. (21.4 x 27.9cm)
Sheet (height x width): 17 15/16 x 12 13/16in. (45.6 x 32.5cm)

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection

DescriptionView of the Wadsworth Atheneum, a stone Gothic revival museum building with square towers flanking the main entrance, which is recessed behind flattened pointed arches. Windows appear to contain leaded glass and have hood molds with corbel stops. Crenellations line the roof. Lettering in the gable over the front entrance reads: "1842 / WADSWORTH ATHENEUM". A man and a woman stand within the porch. Another man and woman are walking on the dirt road to the left of the museum. A man, woman, and a small girl are walking on what appears to be a paved sidewalk in front of the museum. This man wears a cap and cloak and is leaning on a cane. A grassy lawn is in front of the museum. Trees and an iron fence are at the left. Trees, a picket fence, and a house are at the right. A lengthy letterpress text (see Inscriptions) is printed beneath the image.

Object number1995.182.180

InscribedOn recto, lithographed title beneath image, "WADSWORTH ATHENEUM. / Hartford. Conn." Letterpress text beneath lithograph, "GALLERY OF PAINTINGS / IN / WADSWORTH ATHENEUM. / The collection in this gallery, comprises upwards of / ONE HUNDRED OIL PAINTINGS: / many of them by the first masters, ancient and modern: including Trumbull's / Battles of Bunker hill, Trenton, Princeton, and the attack on Quebec, and the / Declaration of Independence, each 9 feet by 6. Sir Thomas Lawrence's / splendid full length portrait of Benjamin West, View of Mount Aetna, taken from Taormina Sicily, by Thomas Cole, 10 feet by 7. L. Terry's celebrated / painting of Christ disputing with the doctors, 12 feet by 9. Wichelo's de- / struction of Jerusalem, 22 feet by 14; also, paintings by Rubens, Murillo, / Llorente, Spagnoletto, Poussin, Vernet, Raeburn and others, embracing por- / traits of distinguished individuals, Landscapes, Sea views, Historical pieces &c. / forming altogether a most attractive and splendid collection of paintings, / worthy the attention of the lovers of the fine arts, and the public generally. / HARTFORD, 1847."

On verso, in pencil: upper right, "12 x 17 1/4 / 19 1/2 x 23 3/4"; lower right, old and new accession numbers, "Consv. CPC 1987" and "Dwr 23".NotesDate Note: Although the broadside is dated 1847, the same lithograph, printed from the same stone, appears as the frontispiece to The Builder's Guide by Chester Hills (Hartford: Case, Tiffany and Burnham, 1846). The frontispiece is an integral part of the publication and is described in the Contents. In this earlier state, the lithograph includes the inscription "Pub. by Case, Tiffany & Burnham" inscribed on the stone, lower center. This was removed before the image was incorporated into the 1847 broadside. (Finlay 12/9/2003)

Subject Note: The Wadsworth Atheneum, the oldest public art museum in the United States, was completed in 1844 to the designs of Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis. Henry Austin served as supervising architect.

Subject Note: The elderly man in the foreground of the image, who appears in profile, leaning on a cane, is based on a silhouette of Daniel Wadsworth in the Connecticut Historical Society collections. It is undoubtedly intended as a portrait of Wadsworth, who founded the Wadsworth Atheneum in 1842. (Finlay 12/20/2002)

Subject Terms