Burning of Old South Church, Bath, Maine
circa 1854 National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
About this artwork
An oil painting depicting the 1854 fire that destroyed the Old South Church in Bath, Maine, captured in a folk art style. The scene shows the church engulfed in flames at night with a crowd of spectators in the foreground.
Did you know?
The Old South Church in Bath, Maine, was destroyed by a fire in early 1854, a tragedy that John Hilling captured with striking immediacy in this painting. His work is celebrated for its precise, narrative-driven folk aesthetic, documenting the architecture and local reaction to the disaster as it unfolded in the moonlight. Such depictions were common in 19th-century America as a way to preserve the memory of community landmarks before the age of photography took over.
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Burning of Old South Church, Bath, Maine
John Hilling, circa 1854
