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Ruins of Aspinwall Castle, Staten Island

Ruins of Aspinwall Castle, Staten Island

Artist/Maker (American, 1829–1901)
Date1880s
MediumOil on board
DimensionsOverall: 4 3/4 × 4 in. (12.1 × 10.2 cm)
Frame: 12 1/4 × 11 3/8 × 2 1/4 in. (31.1 × 28.9 × 5.7 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Charles F. and Abigail L. Olney
Object number1904.428
Status
Not on view
More Information
Edward Moran was famous for his seascapes and for mentoring his younger brother, the painter Thomas Moran. In this painting, Moran depicts the ruins of a mansion that had once belonged to the successful merchant and shipbuilder William H. Aspinwall and had burned to the ground some time before 1880. Set ablaze by the sunset, the dark silhouette and gaping amorphous windows of the charred ruins remind the viewer of the destructive, inevitable forces of nature and the fragility of manmade structures. The impending darkness perhaps suggests the transience of human life as well.
Exhibition History
American Artists Discover America
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 1, 1946 - February 28, 1946 )
American Paintings and Sculpture
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (April 30, 1985 - August 18, 1985 )
American Landscapes and Tromp L'Oeil from the Permanent Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (December 5, 1986 - February 1, 1987 )
Figure to Non-Figurative: The Evolution of Modern Art in Europe and North America, 1830-1950
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 23, 2002 - June 9, 2003 )
Surveying the Ruin: The Architectural Landscape on Paper
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (March 1, 2005 - August 21, 2005 )
On the Threshold: Doors and Windows Represented
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 3, 2015 - July 5, 2015 )
Collections
  • Americas
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator. Noticed a mistake? Have some extra information about this object? Please contact us.