Artist unknown
American, 19th century
Rafting Downstream, ca. 1840–60
Oil on canvas
Transferred by Herman B Wells from the Campus Art Collection to the IUAM 74.54

Discovered during a renovation in the Old Library (now Franklin Hall) and almost discarded, this painting was rescued by the university’s archivist, Mary Craig. Wells had it conserved on two different occasions and “gave it a home” because he liked it and it “fitted in my office.”

Wells enjoyed the narrative implicit in this painting, which tells the story of an era when the Ohio River served as Indiana’s link to the world. “It show[s] a flat boat with Hoosier produce turning from the Wabash into the Ohio with the frontier products of pork, whiskey and timber, and on the Ohio a steamboat returning from New Orleans with the men who had sold their load,” remembered Wells. Although the artist has never been identified, it remains one of the most often reproduced paintings in the university’s collections.

© 2001 Indiana University Art Museum
Send Comments and Suggestions to: iuam@indiana.edu

Photographs of artworks: Michael Cavanagh and Kevin Montague.
Photographs of Herman B Wells: Courtesy of IU Office of Communications and Marketing.