Snapshots of the Past

West Front of the United States Capitol with Cows in the Foreground [c. 1828] – Vintage Print

West Front of the United States Capitol with Cows in the Foreground [c. 1828], 1828 — historic drawing
West Front of the United States Capitol with Cows in the Foreground [c. 1828], 1828. Historic drawing from the U.S. Capitol collection.

(Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

A window into the past: West Front of the United States Capitol with Cows in the Foreground [c. 1828], preserved in this historic drawing. Drawn from the Snapshots of the Past archive, it is an authentic piece of documented history.

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West Front of the United States Capitol with Cows in the Foreground [c. 1828]

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Cows grazing in the foreground set this watercolor apart from more formal views of the Capitol. The scene shows the building's west front in 1828, when the grounds around it were still rough, open pasture rather than the landscaped Mall of later decades. John Rubens Smith, an English-born draftsman who worked in the United States, specialized in topographical views like this one, recording public buildings in their everyday settings. The picture gives a sense of how the young capital looked before the city had filled in around its government buildings.

Created / published1828
Mediumdrawing, watercolor, 42 x 60.4 cm
NotesJohn Rubens Smith
Original scan4,359 × 2,700 px · prints to 15 × 9 in at 300 dpi
Reference1828 3g03579_.tif 06609u west view cows

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