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The image shows Bolling's Dam in Petersburg, Virginia. The viewer is positioned slightly above the river, looking across the water cascading over the dam. Close to us, the river flows over rocks with subtle movements. To the right are rocks, vegetation, and trees. The horizon shows buildings, including a central industrial structure. The sky above is filled with clouds in soft strokes, conveying depth and atmosphere. The color palette consists of muted greens, earth tones, and grays.
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The image shows Bolling's Dam in Petersburg, Virginia. The viewer is positioned slightly above the river, looking across the water cascading over the dam. Close to us, the river flows over rocks with subtle movements. To the right are rocks, vegetation, and trees. The horizon shows buildings, including a central industrial structure. The sky above is filled with clouds in soft strokes, conveying depth and atmosphere. The color palette consists of muted greens, earth tones, and grays.

National Gallery of Art · Print

Bolling's Dam, Petersburgh, Virginia

John Hill, after Joshua Shaw

Date
1821
Medium
hand-colored engraving and aquatint on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 24.61 × 34.29 cm (9 11/16 × 13 1/2 in.) plate: 30.16 × 38.42 cm (11 7/8 × 15 1/8 in.) sheet: 34.45 × 52.55 cm (13 9/16 × 20 11/16 in.)
Classification
Print
Accession number
2015.19.995
Credit line
Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Mary E. Maxwell Fund, 1961)
Time span
1801 to 1825
Department
CG-W
Original NGA record Wikidata

Portfolio and series

Portfolio
Picturesque Views of American Scenery

Subjects and terms

  • American
  • Landscape
  • aquatint
  • engraving
  • Trees
  • Clouds
  • River
  • Virginia
  • Buildings
  • landscape
Provenance

(Goodspeed's Book Shop, Boston, Massachusetts); Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1961; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Inscription

lower right corner in graphite by unknown hand: mt x x / 35.00 text at bottom in plate: Painted by J. Shaw. / Engraved by J. Hill. / Bolling's Dam, Petersburgh, Virginia. / Published by M. Carey & Son Philadelphia.

NGA object ID 169897. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.