Gold Mining, Cripple Creek
1929
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design
Accession Number
1949.10.2
Tags
About this artwork
Ernest Lawson chose to crop the view of Cripple Creek Mining Camp in Colorado so that the craggy mountain overpowers the space. When Lawson came west from New York City, he had trouble with the vastly different landscape, and complained that "he couldn't feel the place, . . . it was too bleak [and] forbidding." He fought against the dizziness and shortness of breath brought on by Colorado's high altitudes, and crafted numerous scenes of the dramatic landscape. This painting won Lawson a prize at...