Rummell View of the Day: "Lawrenceville School" Richard Rummell (1848-1924)

Lawrenceville School

13.5 X 19.5 in. unframed, 16 X 22 in. framed

At the turn of the century, the accomplished landscape artist Richard Rummell (1848-1924) painted a panoramic bird’s-eye view watercolor of The Lawrenceville School. From this watercolor, a copper-plate was engraved and a limited number of pulls (engravings) were distributed.

There are no other illustrations of the Lawrenceville School quite as vivid as Rummell’s watercolor. The school underwent a major expansion in 1880 by one of America’s best architectural firms, Peabody and Stearns of Boston, and by the nation’s renowned architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. The entire campus was designed around Olmsted Circle, a circular green, as seen in the center of the piece. Rummell’s work shows the 18-acre beauty of the now designated National Historic Landmark.

Memorial Hall (1890), the large rectangular bright red building center left, is considered to be the most forceful and important building on campus which is dedicated to John Cleve Green, a benefactor of the Lawrenceville School. Rummell portrays the building with power as he painted it to be the brightest and largest building in the work. It was designed in the Romanesque style by Peabody and Stearns and is now noted for the decorative detail on the Corinthian capitals of the columns and beneath the windows.

To the left of Memorial Hall is the prominent building, the Edith Memorial Chapel (1895). It was built by H. H. Richardson, also in the Romanesque style. The Chapel, in the shape of a Latin Cross, has a massive three story tower with a one and one-half story turret to the right of the front door. This was constructed for a special request of Sarah Helen Griswold Green, the wife of John Cleve Green, in memory of her daughter Edith.

Finally, at the forefront of the watercolor left of center, stands the L-shaped Hamill House (1814), a residential house and the original building of the Lawrenceville School. This building was dedicated to Samuel McClintock Hamill D. D., the school’s longest serving headmaster. It was the first of the “Circle Houses,” the resident houses that surround the “Circle” built by Olmsted.

The Lawrenceville School Rummell view is printed on fine woven paper from the original 1915 engraved copper-plate by a master printer. Coloring is performed by a team of expert watercolorists, and framing is completed in-house with acid-free mat and high grade plexiglass that fits all museum specifications.

The uncolored engraving is available for $350. The beautifully hand colored example is $500. The Rummell View is also available through Arader Galleries in Curly Maple, Black, or Black and Gold frame for $750. There is no charge for shipping. Orders can be placed through our NYC gallery at 212-628-7625 or by contacting us via grahamarader@gmail.com.