Ruins of Fort Atkinson

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

Ruins of Fort Atkinson

Date

May 5, 1833

Dimensions

8 1/2 × 11 7/8 in. (21.6 × 30.2 cm)

Medium

Watercolor on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.152

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

The travelers departed Cabanne's post on May 5 and continued upriver toward the abandoned military post of Fort Atkinson in the vicinity of present Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. Maximilian recorded in his journal that "of the ruins of the fort abandoned here in 1827 there now stand only the walled chimneys, and in the middle a stone storehouse under a roof." Although identified by its inscription as a view of the ruins of Fort Atkinson, Bodmer's study of the river at this point includes no obvious architectural details by which one might distinguish the site.

References in Journal

May 5, 1833

Labels:

structure , genre, riverscape , Missouri River , Fort Atkinson, Nebraska

Approximate Depicted Location:

Fort Atkinson, Nebraska