The painting depicts a burning building. The large white building is in the center of the painting, and it faces the right, with two rows of windows, a black roof, and a large tower with a clock. Bright orange and red flames pour out of the windows and doorways, and the fire stretches upwards towards the tower. Dark gray smoke and orange sparks surround the building, filling up the right side of the painting. On the dirt ground around the building, crowds of small people in dark coats and hats gather and point towards the fire. One person near us holds an American flag. Behind the burning…
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Burning of Old South Church, Bath, Maine

painter John Hilling (British, 1822 - 1894)

c. 1854

Medium
oil on canvas
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
overall: 46.5 x 61.8 cm (18 5/16 x 24 5/16 in.) ; framed: 55.8 x 71.1 x 5 cm (21 15/16 x 28 x 1 15/16 in.)
Culture
American
Museum
National Gallery of Art, CAB
Credit line
Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
Rights
Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the National Gallery of Art