The image depicts a soldier standing near an engraved stone that reads "DIED FOR THE UNION." The scene includes trees, a low horizon with a setting or rising sun casting a glow on calm waters, and the soldier holding a rifle. The color palette is gray, with shades to create depth and emphasize the moonlit background. Engravings of "ARLINGTON HEIGHTS" and "DIE WACHT AM POTOMAC" frame the composition.
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Arlington Heights. Die Wacht. Am Potomac.

Thomas Nast (American, born Germany, 1840 - 1902)

1871

Medium
wood engraving in black on newsprint
Classification
Print
Dimensions
image: 34.61 × 23.18 cm (13 5/8 × 9 1/8 in.) ; sheet: 40.96 × 28.26 cm (16 1/8 × 11 1/8 in.)
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CG-W
Credit line
Donald and Nancy deLaski Fund
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art

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