Ruined When Cities Fall

April 3 - July 17, 2016 - This exhibition of works on paper explores what happens when cities fade. “Ruined” begins in the Renaissance, when the withered bones of ancient Rome provided artists and scholars with both a source of inspiration and a cautionary tale. Later, the cities of ancient Greece, Egypt, and the Near East also loomed in European imagination, and the exhibition includes early photographs of Athens, as well as Egyptian temples, and 18th- and 19th-century views of Palmyra.

The show also features works that capture destructive forces, including images of the great fire of Boston, the empty buildings of Richmond after the Civil War, and the charred remains of Dresden after the firebombing of 1945.

Exhibit held at Frances Vrachos Gallery (Gallery 144).