The Ohio near Smithland

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Artist

Karl Bodmer

Birth and death dates

1809 - 1893

Artist Nationality

Swiss

Title

The Ohio near Smithland

Date

March 19, 1833

Dimensions

4 7/8 × 6 13/16 in. (12.4 × 17.3 cm)

Medium

Ink on paper

Institution

Joslyn Art Museum

Credit Line

Gift of the Enron Art Foundation

Accession Number

1986.49.86

Rights (i.e. copyright information)

Joslyn Art Museum

Photographer credit

Photograph © Bruce M. White, 2019

Commentary

Approximately twenty-five miles below Cave-In-Rock lay Golconda Island, and beyond it the settlement of Smithland at the mouth of the Cumberland River. Passing by in March, 1833, Maximilian described the Cumberland as smaller than the Wabash and Smithland itself as similar to the small Brazilian villages he had seen on his travels in South America more than ten years before. Bodmer's sketch of an Ohio steamer, identified by its inscription as having been observed near Smithland, appears to have served as the model for the riverboat illustrated in Vignette VII of the aquatint series. The dim outline of this or a similar craft was penciled on the sketch reproduced as "Cave in Rock on the Ohio".

References in Journal

March 19, 1833

Labels:

Ohio River , Cumberland River

Approximate Depicted Location:

Smithland, Illinois