Uxmal: Casa de la Monjas
Charles Alonzo Rich, American, 1854 - 1943
late 19th century
Watercolor and graphite on paper
Sheet: 10 × 13 15/16 in. (25.4 × 35.4 cm)
Sheet: 9 15/16 × 17 13/16 in. (25.3 × 45.3 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Mrs. Margaret Sage
W.961.252.41
Portfolio / Series Title
Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and Quirigua
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Watercolor
Research Area
Watercolor
On view
Inscriptions
Inscribed, on reverse, in graphite: Uxmal / Las Monjas / #13; inscribed, on mat, in graphite, lower left: UXMAL: CASA.DE.LAS.MONJAS. / #41
Label
After graduating from Dartmouth in 1875, Charles Alonzo Rich painted these detailed watercolor sketches of Maya monuments while traveling in Mexico and Central America. Their precision demonstrates his architectural training, but the painterly application of watercolors, inclusion of small figures populating the ruins, and written annotations add a sense of liveliness to the scenes. Travelers, scholars, archaeologists, and businessmen all enjoyed new access to the region after the Spanish American wars of independence (1808–33).
Architect and Dartmouth alum Charles Alonzo Rich is responsible for many aspects of how we experience the Dartmouth campus today. He designed the new Dartmouth Hall and the quadrangle at the center of campus that would become the Green, as well as Butterfield Hall, the first purpose-built museum on campus.
From the 2025 exhibition, From Mastodon to Mosaic: Building an Academic Art Collection in America, curated by Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections
Exhibition History
From Mastadon to Mosaic, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 14, 2025 - Fall 2026
Provenance
The artist (1854-1943); to his daughter, Margaret Bradbury Rich Sage (1888-1985); given to present collection, 1961.
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