The Burning of the Theatre in Richmond, Virginia

1812

Benjamin Tanner

Associated Names
Benjamin Tanner

Artist, American, 1775 - 1848

This is a painting of a theater fire. The image depicts a scene of chaos and flames as a building labeled as a theater is engulfed in fire. The fire consumes the structure, with large flames and smoke billowing into the sky. The foreground of the image shows a crowd amidst the blaze. The composition and style suggest an approach to capturing catastrophic events with detailed figures and lighting. This is in the style of historical engravings or lithographs from the early 19th century, often used to document significant events of the time.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    hand-colored etching and aquatint on wove paper mounted to heavy wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Mary E. Maxwell Fund)

  • Dimensions

    image: 27.78 × 37.15 cm (10 15/16 × 14 5/8 in.)
    plate: 32.23 × 39.85 cm (12 11/16 × 15 11/16 in.)
    sheet: 34.93 × 41.43 cm (13 3/4 × 16 5/16 in.)
    support: 44.77 × 52.39 cm (17 5/8 × 20 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.19.875

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(The Old Print Shop, New York); Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1956; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1963

  • Progress of An American Collection, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1963

Inscriptions

lower left support in graphite by unknown hand: T13153; lower right support in graphite by unknown hand: RLH # 1146 / 85.00
text at bottom in plate:
The Burning of the Theatre in Richmond, Virginia, on the Night of the 26th. December 1811, / By which awful Calamity, upwards of One Hundred of its most valuable Citizens suddenly lost their lives, and many others, were much injured. / Published Feby. 25th. 1812 by B. Tanner. No. 74 South 8th. St. Philadelphia.

Wikidata ID

Q77012702

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