View of Cincinnati, Ohio
Artist
Worthington Whittredge
(American, 1820–1910)
Dateabout 1845
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionscanvas: 72.4 x 122.6 cm (28 1/2 x 48 1/4 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1943.3
Label TextWhereas eastern American artists sought desolate, wild scenes, the Ohio native Worthington Whittredge emphasized the civilization of this frontier city. Already by 1828, the English travel-writer Frances Trollope could admit Cincinnati's progress, though in a more tempered assessment than Whittredge's depiction:
Though I do not quite sympathize with those who consider Cincinnati as one of the wonders of the earth, I certainly think it a city of extraordinary size and importance, when it is remembered that thirty years ago the aboriginal forest occupied the ground where it stands; and every month appears to extend its limits and its wealth.
Mrs. Trollope also acknowledged a bustling market, a natural history museum, and a picture gallery as demonstrations of the city's cultural aspiration.ProvenanceCastano Galleries; Plaza Auction Galleries, by 1936; purchased by Mr. E. P. Courtney, 1936; consigned to Plaza Auction Galleries, 1940; purchased by Fritz Mondeschein and Victor D. Sparks (dealers), 1940; purchased by Arnold Seligmann, Rey & Co., Inc., New York, NY, by 1943; purchased by the Worcester Art Museum, 1943.On View
Not on view
