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View of Baltimore from Chapel Hill

Francis Guy

American Art

Francis Guy’s prospect of Baltimore meticulously records the city’s distinctive topographical features, from the cliffs of Jones Falls Valley and “Howard’s Elm” in the foreground to the dense cluster of buildings that stretches to the harbor front. The contrast between built structures and natural forms speaks to a landscape transformed by urban development. Many of the buildings are readily identifiable, including the octagonal Pantheon (left foreground), where Guy planned to exhibit panoramic paintings. His talent for rendering architecture also earned him commissions for “portraits” of the country estates of Baltimore’s gentry.
MEDIUM Oil on canvas
DATES 1802–1803
DIMENSIONS 47 7/16 × 93 9/16 in. (120.5 × 237.6 cm) frame: 51 x 96 1/4 x 3 in. (129.5 x 244.5 x 7.6 cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS American Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 41.624
CREDIT LINE Gift of George Dobbin Brown
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Francis Guy (American, 1760–1820). View of Baltimore from Chapel Hill, 1802–1803. Oil on canvas, 47 7/16 × 93 9/16 in. (120.5 × 237.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of George Dobbin Brown, 41.624 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.624_SL3.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 41.624_SL3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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