Homewood House, Johns Hopkins University
Don Swann Watercolor, c. 1940s

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Homewood House
Homewood House detail
original label artist's signature
Don Swann (1889-1954)
Homewood
Baltimore: c. 1940s
Watercolor on paper, mounted on board
Signed lower right
16 x 20 inches, overall
18.75 x 22.75 inches, framed
Provenance: The Etchcrafters Guild, Baltimore
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.

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An original watercolor by the listed American artist Don Swann depicting a snowy winter view of Homewood House at Johns Hopkins University. This is one of three original Swann works, of the same period, style, and format of snow scenes of historic Maryland houses: Homewood, Johns Hopkins Hospital and The State House. This watercolor relates to an etching of Homewood by Swann portrayed at a different time of year from the same viewpoint (view etching). The watercolor may have been a preparatory work for the print, as is suggested by the watercolor's having been sold by the Etchcrafters Guild.

In 1800, Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the wealthiest men in America, gave his son Charles Carroll, Jr. a 130-arcre tract as a wedding present. The younger Carroll built Homewood House on the property between 1801-03 and it is believed that he designed it himself with the assistance of the builders. He lived there until his death in 1825. In 1839, his son sold Homewood to Samuel Wyman, who lived there until 1853. The house stood vacant for over 40 years. Since 1902, the house and surrounding land have belonged to Johns Hopkins University, and are the site of the Homewood Campus. The house stands at the top of a hillside which is the main entrance to the campus. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976, the building was restored to its early-19th-century appearance and opened to the public as a museum in 1987.

Don Swann studied art in Munich, Germany, and Italy, but spent most of his life in Baltimore. A prolific painter and etcher, he is best known for depictions of the American landscape, ships, trees, the U.S. Navy and college and university buildings. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. Naval Museum, J. P. Morgan, the Smithsonian Institute, and the Congressional Library. The Smithsonian Institute acquired 33 original etchings for the Division of Graphic Arts. After Swann's death, his son, Don Swann, Jr. continued to publish some of his father's etchings from the original plates.

Original Label Verso: "THE ETCHCRAFTERS GUILD, 4201 Linkwood Road, Baltimore 10 Maryland U.S.A., HOMEWOOD, Original Water Color by Don Swann, Price $75.00."

References:

"Historic House Owned by the Johns Hopkins University: Homewood House." Johns Hopkins University. 2002. http://www.jhu.edu/~tour/houses.html (3 September 2003).