Roman Chariot Race
date: label: Date made
content: 1882
label: Date made
content: 1875
name: label: graphic artist
content: Ferris, Stephen James
label: original artist
content: Wagner
label: graphic artist
content: Moran, Peter
label: publisher
content: J. C. McCurdy & Co.
notes: label: Description
content: Stephen Ferris collaborated with his brother-in-law Peter Moran in 1875 to make this large reproductive etching of Alexander von Wagner’s stirring painting <i>Chariot Race in the Circus Maximus, Rome in the Presence of the Emperor Domitian</i>. The scale of the work required an oversized copper plate, which was difficult to find. The young artists, who were new to the etching medium, fabricated their plate from the bottom of a copper boiler, according to H. R.Wray's 1893 <i>Review of Etching in the United States</i>. Moran, who would specialize in animal subjects, etched the horses, the archway in the background, and the roadway. Ferris, known for his portraits, etched the figures and the rest of the architecture. This etching was one of the largest made in the US at the time. The print was well received; the <i>New York Times</i> noted: “Of the style of execution we can speak only in the highest terms.”
label: Description
content: Alexander von Wagner (1838–1919), a Hungarian artist active in Germany, also enjoyed considerable success when he exhibited the painting <i>Chariot Race</i> in Europe in 1872. Wagner painted other versions; one was shown to critical acclaim at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. The Manchester Art Gallery in England owns a version, which may be seen on its website. It was not unusual at that time for an artist to paint several versions of a popular subject in different sizes.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
topic: label: Subject
content: Horse Racing
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Graphic Arts
label: See more items in
content: Ferris Collection
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content: Communications
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content: Art
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Jean Leon Gerome Ferris
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: GA.14534
label: catalog number
content: 14534
label: accession number
content: 94830
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Etching On Chine Colle
label: Object Name
content: print
label: Other Terms
content: Print; Intaglio; Etching
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: image: 22 cm x 57 cm; 8 11/16 in x 22 7/16 in
label: Measurements
content: sheet: 46 cm x 71.5 cm; 18 1/8 in x 28 1/8 in