James B. Walker
The Storming of Chapultepec Sept. 13th 1847

ArtistAmerican, 1818–1889, New York
LithographerNew York, active 1846–1857
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • The Storming of Chapultepec Sept. 13th 1847
Date1848
PlaceNew York, United States
MediumLithograph in colors with watercolor on wove paper
DimensionsImage: 23 5/8 × 36 in. (59.9 × 91.4 cm)
Sheet: 26 7/8 × 38 in. (68.3 × 96.5 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.71.49
Non exposé

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description







The successful storming of Chapultepec Palace, located in a commanding position on a hill outside Mexico City, led to the fall of the Mexican capitol and the end of the war between the United States and Mexico. James Walker, a naturalized American of English origin, had gone to Mexico in the late 1830s and was residing in Mexico City at the time of the 1847 American invasion. Walker made his way to the American forces and volunteered as an interpreter. He thus was present at the battles of Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec where he made sketches of the battle scenes. At the conclusion of the war, Walker returned to New York where he produced paintings based on his sketches. It is likely that he also supervised the production of this unusually large chromolithograph, as it is virtually identical to the original painting. Captain Benjamin Stone Roberts, who is cited as the painting’s owner, is credited with raising the American flag over the fallen Chapultepec Palace.


Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


Provenance[The Green Bottle, Houston]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1962; given to MFAH, 1971.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed below image, center: THE STORMING OF CHAPULTEPEC SEPT. 13TH. 1847
Inscribed below image, left: Drawn on stone, Painted in Colours, and Published by Sarony & Major. 117 Fulton St. N.Y.
Inscribed below image, center: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1848 by Sarony & Major in the Clerks Office of the district court of the Southern District of New York
Inscribed below image, right: From a Painting by Walker. In the Possession of Capt. Roberts U.S.A.
Inscribed below title, center: N. Currier, 152 Nassau St. N. York Sole Agent
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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