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1865–1943
**Raoul Varin (1865–1943) was a French engraver renowned for his meticulously detailed aquatint prints that reconstructed historical views of American cities, particularly Chicago and New York.**
He exhibited at the Salon of French Artists and earned an honorable mention there in 1892. Varin specialized in signed, limited-edition aquatints, often enhanced with hand-coloring and etching, which he produced primarily during the 1920s and 1930s. These works were published by A. Ackermann & Son, with offices in Paris, Chicago, and New York. His prints captured urban scenes from earlier eras, frequently drawing on 19th-century illustrations for accuracy.
Varin’s Chicago series includes evocative reconstructions such as *The First House Built in Chicago as it appeared in 1827* (1930), depicting John Kinzie’s residence; *Michigan Avenue from Madison Street*; views of the 1865 cityscape; the Great Fire of 1871; and a bird’s-eye perspective of Lake Shore Drive in 1889 from the Water Tower. He also created New York scenes, including *New York in 1834*, *Wall Street 1829*, and pairs of views from the North and East Rivers in 1839 and 1843, inspired by earlier engravings by Robert Havell Jr. These prints blend technical precision with historical imagination, offering vivid windows into 19th-century American urban development.
Today, Varin’s work is preserved in prominent collections, including eleven pieces at the Art Institute of Chicago and a substantial group at the Chicago Historical Society. His limited-edition aquatints continue to appeal to collectors and historians for their blend of artistic skill and documentary value, preserving visual records of cities in transformation.
