Artheon LogoArtheon

Burning of Savannah, plate four of the second number of Picturesque Views of American Scenery

John Hill

1819/21

Burning of Savannah, plate four of the second number of Picturesque Views of American Scenery by John Hill

Medium

Aquatint with etching and hand-coloring on cream wove paper

Dimensions

Image: 25.3 × 35 cm (10 × 13 13/16 in.); Plate: 30.1 × 38.4 cm (11 7/8 × 15 1/8 in.); Sheet: 38.1 × 56.2 cm (15 × 22 3/16 in.)

Classification

aquatint

Department

Prints and Drawings

Museum

Art Institute of Chicago

Accession Number

186272

Art Historical Context

John Hill's *Burning of Savannah*, created between 1819 and 1821, is plate four from the second number of *Picturesque Views of American Scenery*, a celebrated series of aquatint prints that captured the dramatic beauty and history of early American landscapes. As a British-born engraver who settled in Philadelphia, Hill brought refined European techniques to depict New World scenes, blending topography with a romantic "picturesque" aesthetic inspired by 18th-century British artists like William Gilpin. This vivid image portrays the fiery destruction of Savannah, Georgia—likely referencing the...

    Send Feedback