Washington Monument
1846
Medium
Tint lithograph on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 61.7 × 44.1 cm (24 5/16 × 17 3/8 in.); Sheet: 73 × 52.6 cm (28 3/4 × 20 3/4 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
129457
Art Historical Context
Behold the striking *Washington Monument*, a tint lithograph created in 1846 by Augusten, a prominent Baltimore-based lithographer of German origin. Printed on fine ivory wove paper, image measures 61.7 44.1 cm, capturing the monument during its construction—a towering obelisk honoring George Washington, the father of the nation. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's and Drawings department, it exemplifies mid-19th-century printmaking at its finest. Lithography, perfected in the early 1800s, revolutionized image reproduction by allowing artists like Hoen to draw directly on stone for preci...