Forum from E
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Carolann Smurthwaite in memory of her mother, Caroline Atherton Connell Smurthwaite
Accession Number
1983.83.128
Tags
Art Historical Context
George Elbert Burr's *Forum from E* (1900) captures the timeless allure of Rome's ancient Forum, viewed from an elevated vantage point—likely Esquiline Hill, suggested by the title. This oil painting, now in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection, showcases the weathered ruins of what was once the bustling political and social heart of the Roman Empire. By 1900, archaeological excavations had revealed these majestic remnants, drawing artists and travelers to ponder the grandeur of antiquity amid Italy's dramatic light and shadow. Burr, an American artist renowned for his atmospheric l...
About the Artist
George Elbert Burr
George Elbert Burr was an American printmaker and watercolorist whose career spanned the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, earning him a reputation as one of the foremost etchers of the American West. Born in 1859 in Monroe Falls, Ohio, Burr trained as a commercial illustrator before turning his full attention to fine art. He honed his craft through diligent self-study and close obser...