CC0 · no rights reserved
The Speculator
From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A rural couple listens skeptically to a representative of the Building Association, identified by the paper in his coat pocket. The salesman—whose top hat, pointed shoes, and umbrella mark him as a city slicker—promises the couple a better life as he unrolls a listing of "1000 Valuable Lots on Rail Road Ave." Francis William Edmonds's comic genre scenes captured the rough-and-tumble of America's frontiers. Democracy meant opportunity for all, and there were plenty of opportunities to fleece the unwary in settlements governed by few laws.
Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineThe Speculator. 1852. Francis William Edmonds, born Hudson, NY 1806-died Bronxville, NY 1863. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ruth C. and Kevin McCann in affectionate memory of Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States. CC0.
