Lot 16005: Kurz - Chicago University

About the image:

"CHICAGO UNIVERSITY is represented by this view of the building,[as it] will be when completed. The artist anticipated the finishing work now rapidly progressing upon the building..."

"The University is charmingly located. It is now within the corporate limits of the City of Chicago, but nearly three miles south of the centre of the City. It is within four hundred yards of Lake Michigan..."

"The material used in the construction is the justly celebrated Athens stone of our own State. The walls are rockfaced, the turrets, facings, cornices, etc., are dressed. The style is Norman. The entire cost will be $200,000. The exterior appearance of the University is very grand and imposing..." (from James W. Sheahan's original text).

About the work:


This hand-colored lithograph is from Louis Kurz's Chicago Illustrated: 1830-1866. The work was published in Chicago by Jevne & Almini in 1866. It was a suberb series of views of pre-Great Fire Chicago. Because of the devastating fire of 1871, these views turned out to be particularly important historically.

"In 1863, Mr. Uranus H. Crosby, of Chicago, a gentleman of means and of great enterprise, conceived the idea of building in this city an edifice of this kind, which, while designed to be of personal profit to its projector, should also be a credit and an ornament to the city, and give stability to the growing interest of the fine arts. Filled with this most honorable ambition, he, in company with W. W. Boyington, Esq., an architect of Chicago, visited the other cities of the country, examining with care all the buildings erected for like purposes, profiting alike by the practical excellencies and the practical defects which they witnessed. The results of this careful and deliberate examination was the plan of the present building, which, without exception, is generally acknowledged the best designed structure of the kind in America." [from the original text].

Provenance: Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Americana Collection.

Mat Size ~ 19 1/2" by 16 1/2"; Paper Size ~ 14 3/4" by 11 1/2"

Hand-colored Lithograph

1866

The work is in very good to excellent condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.

Chicago Illustrated: 1830-1866