This study, and imagined presettlement scene based on the following historical observation along the Fox River, Illinois, served as a study for a larger view of this ecosystem. See the larger view at the bottom of this page.
From Colbee Benton’s A Visitor to Chicago in Indian Days: “Journal to the ‘Far-Off West’”, 1833
“…I could but think what a view for a painter of landscapes, the marsh extending as far as the eye could see, covered with the thick high grass, and the little cluster of tall and bright green tamaracks in the center, and the marsh surrounded by groves of oak extending on here and there. Altogether the view was most splendid and far beyond the powers of a painter to describe.”
Studio painting – January. Canvas mounted to hardboard.
Exhibition History
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May 1 - September 12, 2021
Chicago Botanic Garden
Glencoe, Illinois
Publication History
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Picturing the Prairie: A Vision of Restoration
Published in conjunction with Philip’s 2021 exhibition at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Contributors include: Philip Juras, artist and author; Hank Paulson, foreword; and Stephen Packard, essay. Published by Little Bluestem Press, Athens, GA, 2021.
