Drawing of an iceberg in the middle of an ocean. The background is a light yellow sky but as you make your way to the horizon it becomes a light pink color. Just above the horizon, there are two features in the distance. On the right side, there are a set of pinkish gray clouds that stretch from the right side of the drawing all the way to the left side. The tail end of the clouds end above what appears to be a set of icebergs on the left side. In the foreground, there is an iceberg in the shape of an arrow pointing to the right. If the viewer looks to the left of the iceberg, they will see what appears to be a frozen water spout next to the iceberg. Upon closer inspection, it has the shape of a flower, hence being identified as an ice flower. The bottom of the drawing is a dark blue gray color which represents the ocean.

There are 2 other images of this object. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.

Object Timeline

-0001	We photographed this object.
1917	We acquired this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2018	We photographed this object.
2019	We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

Drawing, Iceberg and Ice Flower

This is a Drawing. It was created by Frederic Edwin Church. It is dated June or July 1859 and we acquired it in 1917. Its medium is brush and oil paint, graphite on thin cream paperboard. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

The icebergs, in Noble’s words, “are a favorite playground of the lines, surfaces and shapes of the whole world, the heavens above, the earth and the waters under: of their sounds, motions and colors also.” Yet Church also realized that only a small portion of each iceberg was visible to him. The “exquisite opalescent blue-green” at the base indicated a larger mass of ice beneath the surface.

This object was donated by Louis P. Church. It is credited Gift of Louis P. Church.

Its dimensions are

30.6 × 50.8 cm (12 1/16 × 20 in.)

Cite this object as

Drawing, Iceberg and Ice Flower; Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900); USA; brush and oil paint, graphite on thin cream paperboard; 30.6 × 50.8 cm (12 1/16 × 20 in.) ; Gift of Louis P. Church; 1917-4-296-b

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition After Icebergs.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2Bgec/
Accession Number 1917-4-296-b
Object ID 18196641