Entrance to a Coal Mine in the Valley of Wyoming, Pennsylvania (Entrance to a Coal Mine, Susquehanna)
Medium
Graphite and white chalk on brown wove paper
Dimensions
5 1/2 x 8 7/16 in. (14 x 21.4 cm)
Classification
Drawing
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Morris K. Jesup Fund, 1974
Accession Number
1974.197.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1852, Thomas Addison Richards captured the rugged entrance to a coal mine in's Wyoming Valley—along the Susquehanna—in this intimate drawing. Rendered in graphite and white chalk on brown wove paper, 5½ x 8⅞-inch study showcases Richards' skill as a British-born American artist known for precise, topographic landscapes. The brown paper provides a warm, earthy base, with graphite defining shadowy depths and white chalk highlighting dramatic light effects, evoking the mine's cavernous mystery amid industrial bustle. Railways, a key tag, likely frame the scene, underscoring the era's transport...