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Showing posts from May 27, 2018

Don Swann (1889-1954) American Master Etcher

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 A...