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Object Timeline

1917

  • We acquired this object.

2002

2013

2018

2019

2024

  • You found it!

Drawing, Icebergs at Midnight, Labrador

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

For Church and Noble, the icebergs’ reflection of “every condition of atmosphere, and every amount of light and shadow” inspired awe. Sunset was a particularly dramatic opportunity that both Church and Noble relished. Noble writes, “If you would behold perfect brilliancy, gaze at the crest of an iceberg cutting sharply into [the] red heavens.” Eager to create opportunities to observe icebergs under different lighting conditions, Church and his companions once launched a flaming tar barrel over the side of their rowboat to illuminate an iceberg after dark.

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

Its dimensions are

30.5 × 50.7 cm (12 × 19 15/16 in.) Mat: 55.9 × 71.1 cm (22 × 28 in.) Frame: 59.7 × 74.9 × 2.5 cm (23 1/2 × 29 1/2 × 1 in.)

It is inscribed

Inscribed in graphite, lower right: Midnight - Labrador

Cite this object as

Drawing, Icebergs at Midnight, Labrador; Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900); USA; brush and oil paint on paperboard; 30.5 × 50.7 cm (12 × 19 15/16 in.) Mat: 55.9 × 71.1 cm (22 × 28 in.) Frame: 59.7 × 74.9 × 2.5 cm (23 1/2 × 29 1/2 × 1 in.); Gift of Louis P. Church; 1917-4-711

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions After Icebergs and MMA American Wing Frederic Church Oil Sketches.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18200951/ |title=Drawing, Icebergs at Midnight, Labrador |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>