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U.S. Capitol and Pennsylvania Avenue before 1814 – Historic Reproduction

U.S. Capitol and Pennsylvania Avenue before 1814, 1814 — historic drawing
U.S. Capitol and Pennsylvania Avenue before 1814, 1814. Historic drawing from the U.S. Capitol collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. 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: U.S. Capitol and Pennsylvania Avenue before 1814, preserved in this historic drawing. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

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U.S. Capitol and Pennsylvania Avenue before 1814

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Pennsylvania Avenue and the Capitol appear here as they stood before British forces burned the building in August 1814, a view the artist seems to have reconstructed from memory after the attack. The drawing was once credited to Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the architect who worked on the Capitol, but that attribution has been questioned. Library of Congress curator Ford Peatross found several qualities inconsistent with Latrobe's technique. Worth noticing is the pen-and-ink line, with white gouache highlights and gray washes that give the scene its soft, documentary feel.

Created / published1814
Mediumdrawing on beige paper, ink, wash, and gouache, visible image 21 x 26 cm
NotesAikman, L. Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Drawing formerly attributed to Latrobe. Aikman identifies the drawing as a Latrobe watercolor, made from memory after British soldiers burned the Capitol in 1814. A pen and ink drawing with highlights in white gouache and black and gray washes. Ford Peatross, Curator of Architecture, Design & Engineering, Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, indicated on 9/11/2000 that several qualities of this drawing are inconsistent with Latrobe's technique; also that Latrobe drawing scholars Charles Brownell and Jeffrey Cohen have both rejected this drawing as a Latrobe
SourceLibrary of Congress
Original scan1,836 × 1,500 px · prints to 6 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-175867

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