On the American continent, the 19th century was witness to the rapid expansion of boundaries, the growth of existing cities, and the establishment of new urban centers, all copiously recorded by the growing numbers of printmakers active in the United States and its territories. 19th-century American printmakers, frequently using the still new technique of lithography, transformed earlier topographical traditions into a vehicle for recording and promoting the new country's development. The exhibition will include examples of 18th-century views of America's founding cities, as well as such dramatic 19th-century formats as the bird's-eye view.
The Phelps Stokes Collection of American Historical Prints, donated to the Library by I. N. Phelps Stokes in 1930, is rich in city and town views that trace the urbanization of, in particular, the North American continent. Cities in the Americas will draw from this resource of more than 800 prints and drawings, chronicling the growth and development of the American urban landscape, as well as the young nation's burgeoning printmaking industry.
