1801
gouache
paperboard
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Natural Bridge, Virginia is a 1801 gouache by American 19th Century, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
You see a towering rock arch above a dark river. A man in a top hat fishes by the water. Trees frame the scene. The bridge looks solid but fragile, like nature’s trick. This is a 19th-century watercolor, not just a photo. The artist layered colors to show depth, using glazing to brighten the cliffs. It’s not a sketch—it’s a careful study. Look up the National Gallery of Art, Washington to see more like this.
This artist painted everyday American life in the 1800s. Look at *Farmhouse in Mahantango Valley*—a quiet, sunlit scene of rural Pennsylvania. *Boy and Girl* shows two children standing close, their faces turned toward…
See the richer artist page
