The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire
Thomas Cole, 1836
The city at its fattest. Gold, boats, a sky that looks paid for. Success as a trap. This is the party before the fire.
About this work
The Consummation of Empire is the third and largest of the five paintings in Thomas Cole's series The Course of Empire, painted between 1833 and 1836. The series follows an imaginary city in a river valley near the sea, recognisable in every picture by a boulder on a crag above the valley, from The Savage State and The Arcadian or Pastoral State to this height of wealth and power, followed by Destruction and Desolation. Here the valley has become a marble city of Greco-Roman temples and colonnades, crowded with people and ships, celebrating a triumph. The series reflected a common American feeling of the time that pastoral life was the ideal stage of civilisation and that empire led to gluttony and decay, and it can be read as a forecast or warning for the United States. Cole took a line from Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage for his advertisements. This canvas measures 130 × 193 cm (51 × 76 in), larger than the others in the series, and belongs to the New-York Historical Society.
Sources: Wikipedia · New-York Historical Society
Print facts
- Native resolution
- 7,784 × 5,277 px
- Sharp at 150 ppi up to
- 51 × 35 in
- Sizes
- Small (20 × 14 in) · $100 · 377 ppi
Medium (24 × 16 in) · $150 · 324 ppi
Large (36 × 24 in) · $300 · 216 ppi - Price includes
- Frame and US shipping · 14–21 days · 30-day returns
FAQ
Where can I buy a framed print of The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire?
Here. The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire is available as a framed print in three sizes: Small (20 × 14 in) for $100, Medium (24 × 16 in) for $150 and Large (36 × 24 in) for $300. Prices include the frame and US shipping; delivery takes 14–21 days, with 30-day returns.
What size works best for The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire?
The file is 7,784 × 5,277 px, so every size is sharp: even Large (36 × 24 in) prints at 216 ppi. Choose Large (36 × 24 in) for a large wall; Small (20 × 14 in) suits a narrower space.
Is it legal to print The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire?
Yes. The Course of Empire: The Consummation of Empire is in the public domain: its copyright, if it ever had one, expired long ago. In the United States a faithful photograph of a public-domain painting does not create a new copyright (Bridgeman v. Corel, 1999), so the image can be printed and sold freely.
