(Sketchbook) Up Rhone Valley from Sion
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
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
1983.83.215
Tags
Art Historical Context
George Elbert Burr's *(Sketchbook) Up Rh Valley from Sion* (1899) captures a fleeting moment of alpine grandeur from the artist's travels in Switzerland. Perched in the town of Sion, in the heart of the Rhone Valley, Burr sketched the sweeping vista of rugged mountains rising against the valley floor—a scene evoking the dramatic landscapes that inspired 19th-century travelers and artists alike. As a quick drawing from his sketchbook, it offers an intimate glimpse into Burr's on-the-spot observation, where pencil or charcoal likely rendered the play of light on peaks and the vastness of the val...
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...