Wild specialized in hand-colored lithographs. These views, particularly the Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated, were some of the first depictions of the American West.
Wild fell gravely ill with tuberculosis[4] in the summer of 1846, and he was taken in by Davenport millinery businessman George L. Webb.[4] On his deathbed, Wild reflected upon his childhood and said that he yearned to die in homeland in Switzerland, but it was a wish that was to not be fulfilled.[4] Wild died on August 12, 1846.[5] Wild was laid to rest nearly on the banks of the river, which he had painted for years. Wild's grave site was unmarked for decades.[6]
University of Pennsylvania campus, located on the west side of 9th Street between Market and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia, in hand colored lithograph created in 1842 by John Caspar Wild of Penn's then Medical Hall (left) and College Hall (right), both built 1829–1830
Pennsylvania Hospital, circa 1840, Library Company of Philadelphia[7]
Further reading
Reps, John William, and J. C. Wild. 2006. John Caspar Wild: painter and printmaker of nineteenth-century urban America. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press. ISBN1-883982-55-3 Designed by Steve Hartman of Creativille, Inc. [1]
Wild, J. C., and Lewis Foulk Thomas. 1948. The valley of the Mississippi: illustrated in a series of views, accompanied with historical descriptions. St. Louis, Mo: Joseph Garnier. (this is a reprint; original edition published 1841–2)
References
^ abJohn Caspar Wild: Painter and Printmaker of 19th Century Urban America, John W. Reps. Page1
John Cushman Abbott Exhibit Supplement includes a discussion of Wild and his book The Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated in a Series of Views, a slide show of illustrations from the book, and a downloadable pdf of the book.
