Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
8.1955.61
People
Washington Allston, American (Georgetown, SC 1779 - 1843 Cambridge, MA)
Title
Abacus and Columns in Perspective, for "Belshazzar's Feast"
Other Titles
Former Title: Perspective Drawings of Abacus and Columns
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
c. 1817
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/305620

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Brown ink, graphite and red chalk on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
23 x 19 cm (9 1/16 x 7 1/2 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: u.l., brown ink, in artist's hand: Take the center parallel line of the tile / to find the extent of the circle in large ball / drop a perpendicular from said line / two thirds from the outer end of the line. / same at the other end. / To find the square for the circle, / divide the depth of the ball / into two equal parts-- then draw / a line from the [word crossed out] / point [words crossed out] / of distance through / the dividing point / (viz middle of the depth) / [crossed out: then where it] /a parallel line through / the mid depth [crossed out: which] /and where they intersect / the perpendiculars / draw lines to the / point of [right?], the / upper part of which / being intersected by / the line abovementioned / from the point of / distance will give the / upper angles of the square.

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
To the artist's wife Martha Dana Allston at his death, 1843; to the Washington Allston Trust, 1862.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Loan from The Washington Allston Trust
Object Number
8.1955.61
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Edgar P. Richardson, Washington Allston, 1779-1843, a loan exhibition of paintings, drawings and memorabilia, exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, MI, 1947), no. 59, p. 11
  • William H. Gerdts, "Allston's 'Belshazzar's Feast' ", Art in America (May-June 1973), vol. LXI, no. 3, pp. 60-65; reproduced in b/w p. 60
  • Kenyon Castle Bolton, III, "The Drawings of Washington Allston: A Catalogue Raisonné" (Ph.D. Diss., Harvard University, 1977), no. 51B, reproduced in b/w fig. 120
  • William H. Gerdts and Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., "A Man of Genius": The Art of Washington Allston (1779-1843), exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, MA, 1979), pp. 230, 232, cat. 92, ill.

Exhibition History

  • Washington Allston, 1779-1843: A Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Memorabilia, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, 05/11/1947 - 06/15/1947; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 07/17/1947 - 08/24/1947
  • "A Man of Genius": The Art of Washington Allston (1779-1843), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 12/12/1979 - 02/03/1980; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 02/28/1980 - 04/27/1980

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu