Samuel Donovan Swann, AKA Don Swann was born in what was known as Fernandina, FL, now a northern suburb of Jacksonville. He studied extensively; Maryland Institute College of Art, St. Johns College in Annapolis, as well as in Munich and Rome. He documented numerous Washington, New York and Baltimore buildings. He was co-author of a famed collection "Colonial and Historic Homes of Maryland" which included 100 etchings.
In the etching below is a view of Pennsylvania Avenue from the Treasury Department looking toward the U. S. Capitol in about 1910. The streets are filled with Model T cars and trolley cars. Many of those same buildings are still along the avenue today. The Capitol serves as a focal point in the distance for the composition. You can't see the details of the Capitol, but our mind fills in the details, because we all know what the iconic U.S. Capitol looks like.
On the left of the etching, we see the Willard Hotel with the American flag blowing in the breeze. The White House is within two blocks of the Willard and the Willard Hotel was the known for creating the term "lobbyist". Before high Presidential security, people would sit in the lobby of the Willard with the hope that the President would drop on by and they would get the chance to speak with or influence the President.
On the mid-center right of the composition is the building known as the Old Post Office Pavilion with the Tower. Today, it is the Trump International Hotel, but is still owned by the U.S. General Services Administration. Across the street at an angle and closer to the Capitol is the Apex Building with the flag flying high above the building. The famed photographer, Mathew Brady had a Studio here in the mid-1800s. Now it is the headquarters of the National Council for Negro Women.
It is not easy to create etchings, they have to be drawn on a copper metal plate with an etching needle. And the drawings on the plate has to be inside out and backwards because of the etching printing techniques. In other words, in a reverse, mirror image.
In the 1980s, Don Swann's son, Don Jr. reproduced some of his father's etchings. I believe this etching is from the original plate drawn by Don Sr., but reproduced by Don Swann, Jr. Don Jr. studied art at Princeton. This etching is numbered 74 of 300.
Some of the details about Don Swann, Sr. include:
Member: Baltimore Watercolor Club, American APL
Etchings - Work: Princeton University, National Cathedral, Library of Congress, U.S. Naval Academy, Sweetbrier College, Randolph-Macon College, Metropolitan Museum of Art, J.P. Moran Library, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Virginia Fine Museum of Art.
Director and Member: Etchcrafters Art Guild, Baltimore.
Footnote: Special thanks goes to -
Who's Who in American Art, Volume IV For Years 1940-1947
1947 The American Federation of Arts, Washington, DC
In the etching below is a view of Pennsylvania Avenue from the Treasury Department looking toward the U. S. Capitol in about 1910. The streets are filled with Model T cars and trolley cars. Many of those same buildings are still along the avenue today. The Capitol serves as a focal point in the distance for the composition. You can't see the details of the Capitol, but our mind fills in the details, because we all know what the iconic U.S. Capitol looks like.
On the left of the etching, we see the Willard Hotel with the American flag blowing in the breeze. The White House is within two blocks of the Willard and the Willard Hotel was the known for creating the term "lobbyist". Before high Presidential security, people would sit in the lobby of the Willard with the hope that the President would drop on by and they would get the chance to speak with or influence the President.
On the mid-center right of the composition is the building known as the Old Post Office Pavilion with the Tower. Today, it is the Trump International Hotel, but is still owned by the U.S. General Services Administration. Across the street at an angle and closer to the Capitol is the Apex Building with the flag flying high above the building. The famed photographer, Mathew Brady had a Studio here in the mid-1800s. Now it is the headquarters of the National Council for Negro Women.
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| Etching "Pennsylvania Avenue" |
In the 1980s, Don Swann's son, Don Jr. reproduced some of his father's etchings. I believe this etching is from the original plate drawn by Don Sr., but reproduced by Don Swann, Jr. Don Jr. studied art at Princeton. This etching is numbered 74 of 300.
Some of the details about Don Swann, Sr. include:
Member: Baltimore Watercolor Club, American APL
Etchings - Work: Princeton University, National Cathedral, Library of Congress, U.S. Naval Academy, Sweetbrier College, Randolph-Macon College, Metropolitan Museum of Art, J.P. Moran Library, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Virginia Fine Museum of Art.
Director and Member: Etchcrafters Art Guild, Baltimore.
Footnote: Special thanks goes to -
Who's Who in American Art, Volume IV For Years 1940-1947
1947 The American Federation of Arts, Washington, DC
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