Botanical Sketches with an Alligator, Río Magdalena, Colombia
date: label: Date
content: May 1853
name: label: Artist
content: Frederic Edwin Church, American, 1826–1900
notes: label: Catalogue Status
content: Research in Progress
label: Description
content: Botanical sketches showing views of trees along the Magdalena River in Colombia, with an alligator. At upper left and right, two sketches of what the artist deems a "monstrous tree" are shown. Its canopy is massive and its branches form a knotted matrix of spindly, organic tendrils. A sketchy depiction of a swimming alligator is included at center left. Its hinged mouth is open wide. At lower left, a sketch of a tagua palm is shown with a detail of one of its fronds, while at lower right, a deciduous tree with a thin trunk is visible.
place: label: place depicted
content: Colombia
label: made in
content: Colombia
setName: label: See more items in
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
label: See more items in
content: Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Louis P. Church
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 1917-4-132
objectType: label: Type
content: nature studies
label: Object Name
content: Drawing
label: Type
content: Drawing
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Graphite on gray laid paper
label: Dimensions
content: 21.5 × 28.2 cm (8 7/16 × 11 1/8 in.)