Details
Creator Birch, Thomas, 1779–1851.
Title Philadelphia Harbor from the South.
Date Ca. 1840
Physical Description Oil on canvas ; 19 1/2 x 29 5/8 inches ; Framed: 27 1/2 x 37 3/4 x 2 1/2 + 1= 3 1/2 inches.
Is referenced by Thomas Birch: 1779-1851, Paintings and Drawings. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Maritime Museum, 1966 (#37).
Cummer Gallery of Art. American paintings of ports and harbors, 1774-1968. Jacksonville : Cummer Gallery of Art, 1969.
Library Company of Philadelphia. Quarter of a Millennium. Philadelphia: Library Company, 1981, p. 210-211.
Soltis, Carol. “Highlights from the Collection of Paintings and Sculpture,” Magazine Antiques 70 (2) (2006): p. 84-85.
Notes Philadelphia landmarks in the painting include Spark’s Shot Tower on the left, the steeple of Christ Church in the center, as well as the Old Navy Yard. Anchored in front of the Navy Yard is what is believed to be the U.S.S. Pennsylvania, which is thought to be the largest sailing man-of-war ever built in the United States. At the right is the steamboat Robert Morris, built in 1830.
Bequest of Dr. James Rush, 1869.
Exhibited in: Philadelphia Maritime Museum's exhibition, Thomas Birch, 1779 - 1851, Paintings and Drawings (1966); American Paintings of Ports and Harbors at the Cummer Gallery of Art, Jacksonville, Florida and the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences (1969); Library Company's exhibition, Quarter of a Millennium (1981).
Subject Marine painting.
Harbors -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
Geographic subject Philadelphia (Pa.)
Genre Painting.
Associated name Rush, James, 1786-1869, former owner.
Location OBJ 273
Accession number OBJ 273