Corner of State and Washington Streets, Chicago, in the Year 1865
published June 1928 (1865 depicted)
Medium
Aquatint and etching in brown, with hand-coloring, on cream wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 37.3 × 53.5 cm (14 11/16 × 21 1/8 in.); Plate: 44.6 × 59.2 cm (17 9/16 × 23 5/16 in.); Sheet: 54 × 71 cm (21 5/16 × 28 in.)
Classification
aquatint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
2204
Art Historical Context
This evocative aquatint and captures a bustling intersection at State and Washington Streets in Chicago during 1865, a pivotal year just after the Civil War when the city was rapidly expanding as a commercial hub. Created by artist Raoul Varin and published in 1928—decades after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed much of the original wooden architecture—the print offers a nostalgic glimpse into the pre-fire era, with horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians in period attire, and early storefronts lining the dirt streets. It serves as a visual record of urban life before the city’s dramatic tra...