Cleveland Lighthouse on the Lake Erie

Artist Karl Bodmer (Swiss, 1809 - 1893)

Author Prince Maximilian of Wied (1782 - 1867)

Date1832-1834

MediumHand-colored aquatint

Dimensions11 3/8 × 16 1/2 in. (28.9 × 41.9 cm)

ClassificationsPrint

Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2009.26.80

Accession number 2009.26.80

DescriptionDisbound from an oblong quarto volume of thirty-three vignette plates

On View

Not on view

ProvenanceAuthor; to Frederick Schuchart, NY, 1844; (William Reese Company, New Haven, CT); purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2009
Label TextMaximilian and Bodmer reached St. Louis on May 27, 1834. From there they retraced the route they took two years earlier on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers as far as Mount Vernon, again visiting New Harmony, Indiana. Then they journeyed overland and arrived at Louisville, Kentucky, where they boarded a steamboat for Portsmouth. From Portsmouth, the explorers followed the Ohio Canal northward to the port of Cleveland, where they took a steamer bound for Buffalo, New York. Bodmer's original drawing of the Cleveland lighthouse on Lake Erie has been lost—only this aquatint documents his view of this landmark. Bodmer also painted the Niagara Falls before leaving Buffalo. Finally, the travelers followed the Erie Canal to Albany, New York, and, descending the Hudson River, arrived again at New York City. From there they sailed to Europe on July 16, 1834, and arrived in Lehavre, France, on August 8. The explorers took with them vast numbers of specimens of flora and fauna, including live bears, scientific notes, and detailed drawings and watercolors documenting their adventures.