Artwork Page for Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia

Details / Information for Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia

Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia

c. 1872–90

Israel Cook Russell

(American, 1852–1906)
Culture
America
Medium
albumen print
Measurements
Sheet: 14.9 x 19.1 cm (5 7/8 x 7 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Judith K. McMillan 2024.133
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

From the 1700s through the Civil War, the Great Dismal Swamp’s timber was harvested by slave labor, yet the swamp also housed numerous people who had escaped slavery.

Description

Israel Cook Russell’s view of the Great Dismal Swamp, which straddles the border between Virginia and North Carolina, evokes both the locale’s abundance of timber and its sense of desolation. Russell, a celebrated geologist, took care to express the geological and biological forces that shaped landscapes but also to create images of artistic value.
A vertically oriented albumen print in warm sepia tones depicts a swamp forest with slender trees rising from still, reflective water. In the foreground right, a large tree trunk features a dark, triangular opening. To the left, nestled among submerged logs, a person sits in a small boat. Fine, vertical lines suggest textured bark throughout the scene, and mirrored images in the water create a monochromatic landscape of natural stillness.

Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia

c. 1872–90

Israel Cook Russell

(American, 1852–1906)
America

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