View of the Natural Bridge, Virginia
Artist
Jacob Caleb Ward
(American, 1809 - 1891)
Dateca. 1835
MediumOil on wood panel
Dimensionsunframed: 23 1/2 × 32 1/8 in. (59.7 × 81.6 cm)
Overall, Frame: 31 5/8 × 39 3/4 × 2 7/8 in. (80.3 × 101 × 7.3 cm)
Overall, Frame: 31 5/8 × 39 3/4 × 2 7/8 in. (80.3 × 101 × 7.3 cm)
ClassificationsAmerican art
Credit LineGift of the Norfolk Society of Arts in commemoration of its 100th anniversary and Museum purchase, 2017
Object number2017.11
Collections
On View
On viewLabel TextJacob Caleb Ward American, 1809–1891 View of Natural Bridge, Virginia, ca. 1835 Oil on wood panel With cows in the foreground, painter Jacob Ward celebrates Natural Bridge as a portal between civilization and wilderness, connecting Virginia’s orderly agrarian society to the dangers and riches of the frontier. Residents of the American South also heralded this remarkable rock formation as their region’s rival to the powerful beauty of Niagara Falls in New York and the majestic scale of the Swiss Alps. Thomas Jefferson called it “the most sublime of Nature’s works,” and in 1774 he purchased the land to ensure that this example of divine architectural genius could inspire future generations of tourists and artists. Gift of the Norfolk Society of Arts in commemoration of its 100th anniversary and Museum Purchase, 2017 2017.11
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