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The Parthenon was largely destroyed in 1687 following a massive explosion, having been
used as a gun powder magazine by the Ottoman Turks, and was not restored to is current
appearance until the 1970s/80s.
The current lot relates to a painting of the same subject,
Ruins of the Parthenon
, in the collection
of the National Gallery of Art,Washington, D.C. (Corcoran Collection, 2014.79.20). Gifford
painted this subject both
en plein air
and after sketches made during a visit to Greece in 1869.
We would like to thank Dr.Kevin J.Avery,Associate Curator (retired),Department of American
Art,The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NewYork, for his assistance with the research for
this painting.
[20,000/30,000]