As featured in Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door
(May 2001 Travel News)

In the sense of art criticism this expression often means
"having the massive stability and calm grandeuer of noble architecture."

This web site features approximately 320 digitally rendered images from a collection of over 15,000 photographic prints held by the University Archives of Washington University in St. Louis.

• The finding aid is in Portable Document Format (.pdf). Tips on opening PDF files when using FireFox.

• This collection was purchased in 1909 from the estate of Russell Sturgis (1836-1909), a prominent American architect and a leading figure in the both the promotion and refinement of architectural criticism at the turn of the 20th century.

• A well-versed world traveler, celebrated public speaker, and prolific writer, Sturgis began collecting photographic prints in 1858 to compliment his ever-growing library on architectural subjects.

• By judiciously selecting only the choicest works by the most praised photographers and photographic editors of the time, Sturgis assembled perhaps the most thoroughly exhaustive and first-rate collection of its kind in America.

• Notable artists found in the collection include:  Leopoldo Alinari; Beato Antonio; the Bisson Freres; Edouard-Denis Baldus; Felix Bonfils; Domenico Bresolin; Carol and Giacoma Brogi; Howard Crosby Butler; Desire Charney; Charles Clifford; Francis Frith; Max Junghandel; Moise Leon; Isaac Levy; Robert Macpherson; Carlo Ponti; William H. Rau; Giorgio Sommer; William James Stillman, Dudovico Tuminello, George Washington Wilson; and, others.

• While the collection largely focuses on European architectural details, topographical views, sculpture, and painting, there are also images from cities and archaeological sites in Asia, North Africa, the Middle East, and South America.

This web site consists of five sections, namely:

1. 315 select images in low resolution .jpg format (50-80k).
2. 5 select images in high resolution .jpg format (250-500k).
3. An inventory of 56 images that will be on exhibit in the Department of Special Collections in Olin Library at Washington University in St. Louis from 25 May to 31 July 2001.
4. A list of links to related sites
5. Acknowledgements

• To view a given image, click on the name of the text link that is of interest. Or, you may view selected images in a slide show format. (RealPlayer is needed to run the slide show. All the images in the slide show are represented in the text links below)

• One may wish to make note of the box number that accompanies the text link, as this corresponds to the finding aid and serves to assist in the retrieval of the actual photograph from the collection.

• Should you wish to download images from this web site, kindly cite as follows: Russell Sturgis Collection, Washington University Archives, St. Louis Missouri.

• Please remember that the nomenclature of cities, countries, general geographic areas, and historical epochs reflects the thinking of the early 20th century when the collection was acquired by the university. In many instances, one may see a change of name (for example, "Strasbourg, France" [since 1944] is found under, "Strassburg, Germany" [1871-1919; 1940-44]).

Last modified: August 3, 2001

[Finding Aids]