The Peaks of Otter with Mount Prospect, The Residence of the Honorable Robert Allen
Item
Title
The Peaks of Otter with Mount Prospect, The Residence of the Honorable Robert Allen
Creator
Charles De Wolf Brownell
American, 1822–1909
American, 1822–1909
Date
c. 1848
Materials
Ink on paper
Description
The Peaks of Otter, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, were a popular tourist destination known for inspiring feelings of the sublime in visitors. In 1857, one traveler called the view from the pinnacle “the finest in the world.” The Connecticut-based and widely traveled Charles De Wolf Brownell may have been commissioned by Robert Allen to depict his dwelling amid the panoramic vista, seen here in a rare triptych format. Though there are two small related paintings by Brownell in the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond, the ink drawing stands as a finished work onto itself. A practicing attorney in these years, Brownell may have known Allen, a former congressman, through legal circles. Brownell abandoned law in 1853 to pursue art full time.
Source
The John Driscoll American Drawings Collection
Identifier
2018.103
Rights
This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses may not be permitted.