American School, Mid-19th Century

Landscape, Nauvoo, Illinois
oil on canvas
signed and dated J.G. Thompson, 48, lower right
26 x 35 inches.

In 1839, Mormons settled in this part of Illinois, which their leader and prophet, Joseph Smith (1805-1844), renamed the Nauvoo, the Hebrew word for “Beautiful Place.” The settlement subsequently grew as a Mormon community of as many as 20,000 residents, and a commensurate building boom, of both residential and commercial structures, took place during the 1840s. One of the preexisting homes in the community, a two-story log cabin, became the residence of Joseph Smith and his family, and a similar homestead is visible in the painting offered here in the upper right corner. Also of iconographical interest is the large building at center, likely representative of Nauvoo House, a boarding house built by Smith in the 1840s to lodge Mormons who came to the area on pilgrimage. 

This lot is located in Cincinnati.

Property from the Collection of Stanley B. Slocum