SOLD

FORDING THE WABASH

ITEM #2146

PRICE  $45.00     

Dimensions of the print area are, minus margins, approx. 7 by 5.50 inches, and the overall size is approx. 10 by 6.50 inches.

This is a genuine vintage engraving titled "Fording the Wabash." The view was engraved by Nat Kinsey from an original painting by George Winter. The engraving is in excellent condition and shows a man crossing the river with a team of harnessed oxen. It is wonderfully detailed. This rare view of the Wabash River and a pioneer with his oxen was published in an American literary and art publication in 1853. A truly fine piece of Americana!

George Winter (1809-1876) was born in England. He frequented London's museums and
galleries as a young man but apparently received no formal training in art. In 1830 Winter
emigrated to New York where he studied for a short time at the National Academy of Design.
In 1837, he arrived by a stagecoach in the frontier town of Logansport, Indiana, coming, as he
said, "...to the Wabash for the purpose...of seeing and learning something of the Indians and
exercising the pencil in the direction."

During his lifetime, Winter documented a vanishing culture. He obtained the confidence of the
Miami and Pottawatomie Indians and had unique opportunities to sketch them as an artist, but,
like an historian, he kept accurate records and wrote prolifically about his paintings and the
subjects and circumstances of his works.

An extensive collection of the works of George Winter was donated to the Tippecanoe County
Historical Association in 1986 by Mrs. Cable G. Ball, the widow of Winter's great grandson.
This gift to the Lafayette community includes manuscripts, letters, drawings, and paintings of
this important 19th century artist.
  This is not a
reproduction or reprint. It is a 150 year-old steel engraving and guaranteed to be as described.