Plan of a Washington Monument

Art Historical Context

In 1848, as America grappled with honoring its first president amid growing national pride, this wood engraving titled *Plan of a Washington Monument* an early architectural proposal for a grand tribute to George Washington. Created by engravers William Wallace and John William Orr, with printing by C. G. Graham and Co., the detailed sheet (23 13/16 × 14 9/16 in.) presents a precise blueprint-like rendering, likely one of many designs competing for the monument's final form. That same year, the cornerstone for the iconic obelisk in Washington, D.C., was laid, making this print a fascinating snapshot of the era's patriotic fervor and architectural ambition. Wood engraving, the medium here, was a revolutionary 19th-century technique using end-grain wood blocks for sharp, intricate lines ideal for reproducing technical drawings in newspapers and broadsides. Its affordability allowed such plans to reach wide audiences, fueling public debate and fundraising for national projects. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (Bequest of Herbert Mitchell, 2008), this work highlights how printmaking bridged engineering and public memory, immortalizing Washington's legacy in the young republic's visual culture.

About the Artist

William Wallace|John William Orr|C. G. Graham and Co. (American) · 1856 –1915

American, 1856–1915