Pittsburgh
Item
Title
Pittsburgh
Creator
Thaddeus M. Fowler
American, 1843–1922
Published by T. M. Fowler & James B. Moyer
American, 1843–1922
Published by T. M. Fowler & James B. Moyer
Date
1902
Materials
Color lithograph
Measurements
18 x 26 in. (45.7 x 66 cm)
Description
Thaddeus Fowler was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. He ran away from home at age fifteen, and four years later he enlisted in the Union Army at the start of the Civil War. Wounded at the Battle of Bull Run, he was honorably discharged in 1863 and moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked with his uncle, John Mortimer Fowler, a professional photographer. In 1870, Fowler quit the photography business to open his own publishing firm, concentrating almost exclusively on panoramic views. He moved back east in 1880, working in several locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey before settling for good in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, in 1885.
In this view of Pittsburgh, two tint stones were employed to create a four-color composition: blue for the sky and water, and a pinkish brown for the streets. Not infrequently, the tint stones were allowed to overlap to create even greater color variation. A preferred combination—seen in a number of prints in the exhibition, including the view of Highspire, just to the left—was to use a blue stone for the sky and water and a light yellowish brown stone for the roads and structures. Both stones would be allowed to color the grounds and foliage, rendering them green.
Adapted from the entry written by Judith Hansen O’Toole for the 1980 Pennsylvania Prints exhibition catalogue.
In this view of Pittsburgh, two tint stones were employed to create a four-color composition: blue for the sky and water, and a pinkish brown for the streets. Not infrequently, the tint stones were allowed to overlap to create even greater color variation. A preferred combination—seen in a number of prints in the exhibition, including the view of Highspire, just to the left—was to use a blue stone for the sky and water and a light yellowish brown stone for the roads and structures. Both stones would be allowed to color the grounds and foliage, rendering them green.
Adapted from the entry written by Judith Hansen O’Toole for the 1980 Pennsylvania Prints exhibition catalogue.
Source
Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, partial gift and purchase from John C. O’Connor and Ralph M. Yeager.
Identifier
86.549
Rights
This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted.