In the Valley of Wyoming, Pennsylvania (Interior of a Coal Mine, Susquehanna)

Thomas Addison Richards

1852 · Graphite and white chalk on light brown wove paper · The American Wing

This is one of two drawings (see also 1974.197.3) Richards executed as designs for wood-engraved illustrations to accompany an article he wrote for “Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,” published in October 1853. Like John Hazelhurst Latrobe, who had visited the area earlier, Richards made scenic views of the Susquehanna River region, but here he depicted mining activity in the coal-rich Wyoming Valley of the Susquehanna. The glowing lights in the two drawings are probably candles affixed to the miners’ headgear, which sometimes induced explosions.

Artist

Thomas Addison Richards

Date

1852

Medium

Graphite and white chalk on light brown wove paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Morris K. Jesup Fund, 1974