Floor plan

South wing: ThemesCities and Views

Cities and Views

The Contest for the Bouquet: The Family of Robert Gordon in Their New York Dining-Room, by Seymour Joseph Guy, 1866
Cathedral Tower, Pistoia, Italy, by Cass Gilbert, 1898
Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles, by John Vanderlyn, 1818–19
A work made of oil on composition board.
A work made of oil on canvas.
Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du Midi, by Gustave Courbet, 1877
A work made of oil on panel.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Streets, bridges, skylines and squares: the city as painters and engravers saw it, often before photography could. Views of Venice, Paris, New York and Edo sit together here, made for travellers, for civic pride and for the plain pleasure of looking at a place.

Section 1, north wall

  1. The Contest for the Bouquet: The Family of Robert Gordon in Their New York Dining-Room, by Seymour Joseph Guy, 1866
    The Contest for the Bouquet: The Family of Robert Gordon in Their New York Dining-RoomSeymour Joseph Guy, 1866Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Cathedral Tower, Pistoia, Italy, by Cass Gilbert, 1898
    Cathedral Tower, Pistoia, ItalyCass Gilbert, 1898Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles, by John Vanderlyn, 1818–19
    Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of VersaillesJohn Vanderlyn, 1818–19Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. A work made of oil on composition board.
    Notre Dame de ParisJean-François Rafaëlli, c. 1890Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 1, south wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Sawmill, Outskirts of ParisHenri Rousseau, c. 1893/95Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du Midi, by Gustave Courbet, 1877
    Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du MidiGustave Courbet, 1877Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A work made of oil on panel.
    French Street SceneEdouard Béliard, 1873–77Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, south wall

  1. A VILLAGE SQUARE
    A Village SquareWalter Shirlaw, 1875–80Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. The Square of Saint Mark's, Venice, c. 1770/1800
    The Square of Saint Mark's, VeniceUnrecorded maker, c. 1770/1800Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Life-size painting of an urban scene in Paris. A man in a top hat holding an umbrella and a woman in a long fashionable dark dress walk arm in arm toward the viewer as other city dwellers with umbrellas walk in various directions across cobblestone roads and sidewalks.
    Paris Street; Rainy DayGustave Caillebotte, 1877Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, north wall

  1. Untitled (forest scene with bridge, cows in stream in foreground), by Edward Mitchell Bannister, 1897
    Untitled (forest scene with bridge, cows in stream in foreground)Edward Mitchell Bannister, 1897Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. Seventh Regiment on Review, Washington Square, New York, by Otto Boetticher, 1851
    Seventh Regiment on Review, Washington Square, New YorkOtto Boetticher, 1851Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Landscape Near Paris, by Georges Michel, c. 1840
    Landscape Near ParisGeorges Michel, c. 1840Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 3, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    The Place du Havre, ParisCamille Pissarro, 1893Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Piazza San Marco, by Canaletto, late 1720s
    Piazza San MarcoCanaletto, late 1720sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. We look across and down at a channel of water separating two landmasses labeled "Boston" and "Charles Town" in this horizontal landscape painting. Four three-masted ships are in the aquamarine-blue harbor between us and the land. Three of them have their sails unfurled and smoke billows from the broad, starboard side of each. Tidy rows of brown houses line the area of Boston. A puff of white smoke rises from the farthest point. Two arrow-shaped missiles, perhaps projectiles on fire, arc toward Charles Town, where billowing gray plumes of smoke rise from vivid orange fire on the far side of the landmass. Rowboats bring soldiers to the shore of Charles Town, close to where hundreds of soldiers line up and fire at each other. Much of the rest of Charles Town is a hill leading to sheer cliffs to our right. Tan and gray-colored smoke mixes among bright white clouds against a pale blue sky on the top half of the painting.
    Attack on Bunker's Hill, with the Burning of Charles TownUnrecorded American maker, 1783 or afterCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington