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How Do I Love Thee - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “How Do I Love Thee” (Sonnet 43) was first published in 1850 in Sonnets of the Portuguese, one of her seminal works and one of the greatest collections of sonnets in the literary canon. Her most famous sonnet’s opening line, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways,” is one of the most recognizable ever and familiar to those who have never even read the poem. Because it does not specify a specific name or gender, the sonnet earns universal appeal. -
In Memoriam A.H.H. - Alfred Lord Tennyson
Alfred Lord Tennyson was the leading poet of the Victorian age and one of the most renowned and frequently quoted English language poets ever. Appointed Poet Laureate of the U.K. in 1950, he held the position for a record 42 years until his death. In Memoriam A.H.H. is considered to be one of the greatest poems of the 19th century and its lines “'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all” are some of the most recognizable in the canon. -
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Snow's Virtual Museum 1850-1900
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Moby Dick, or The Whale - Herman Melville
With one of the most recognizable opening lines in literary history (“Call me Ishmael”) this modern masterpiece was a commercial failure at its 1851 publication and went largely uncelebrated until more than 25 years after the original publication and well after the author’s death. Once rediscovered, the novel inspired a legion of literary acolytes from D.H. Lawrence to Nathaniel Hawthorne and was adapted into numerous films, books, cartoons, television shows and even comic books -
Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
Whitman’s Leaves of Grass is one of the most quoted and referenced poetry volumes of the 19th century. Originally published in 1855, the highly controversial poems diverged from standard literary rules and themes, receiving negative criticism for explicit sexual imagery. During WWII, the American government distributed Whitman's poetry to soldiers, believing it would inspire them to protect the American Way of life. This central work of American poetry has become an icon of popular culture. -
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
Published in 1856, Madame Bovary is French writer Gustave Flaubert’s debut novel and landed the author in legal trouble for its scandalous subject matter, which the public prosecutors deemed obscene. Eventually aquitted, the trial made the story notorious and it became a bestseller in 1857. Flaubert's masterpiece is widely considered to be a seminal work of literary realism, and one of the most influential literary works in history. It has been described as the perfect work of fiction. -
The Angelus - Jean-Francois Millet
One of the most famous paintings of the Realism movement, Jean-Francois Millet, a leader of the French Barbizon school, completed The Angelus between 1857 and 1859. A master work of social realism, Millet’s most famous work was also one of the most widely reproduced religious paintings of the 19th century. Decades later, Surrealist icon Salvador Dali would pay homage to The Angelus in two sets of paintings in 1933 and 1935, followed by a 1938 book of his interpretations of The Angelus. -
British Houses of Parliament, AKA The Palace of Westminster - London, England
After a fire destroyed the British seat of government in 1834, Sir Charles Barry, assisted by A.W.N. Pugin, redesigned the current Houses of Parliament buildings in the Gothic Revival style, completing construction in 1860. Seated on the left bank of the River Thames and encompassing The House of Lords, The Commons, The Southwestern Victoria Tower and The Elizabeth Tower, which houses the famous Big Ben clock tower, The Palace of Westminster was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1970. -
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s 1866 novel Crime and Punishment is a work of literary genius and a psychological study of Russian ideas of morality, justice, and human nature with themes that are as relevant today as at book’s first publishing. Its third-person omniscient perspective uses a narrative technique that fuses the narrator closely with the consciousness and point of view of its characters, switching between them, and was original for its period. It has been adapted into more than 25 films. -
The Royal Albert Hall - London, England
One of the U.K.’s most cherished buildings, The Royal Albert Hall opened in 1871 after Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone during a 1867 ceremony in front of a crowd of over 7,000. The building was designed by architect Major General Scott RE. A frieze made of mosaic tesserae and depicting historical human accomplishments was designed by seven leading Victorian age artists and encircles the building. Since its opening, many of the world’s leading artists have performed on its stage. -
Impression, Sunrise - Claude Monet
Claude Monet is one of few artists who can claim credit for inspiring an entire new movement in painting. The title of his 1872 masterpiece Impression, Sunrise, which depicts the port of the artist’s hometown of Le Havre, France is, in fact, attributed with the naming of the Impressionist movement. On display in the Musee Marmotten Monet in Paris, which houses the world largest collection of the artist's work, the museum calls this piece the foundation stone of its Impressionist collections. -
Carmen - Georges Bizet
First performed at the Opera Comique in Paris on March 3, 1875, Bizet’s Carmen is one of the most popular operas ever, with over 3,000 performances at its original venue and over 1,000 at New York's Met. Further, two of its arias are among the best known in operatic canon. Bridging the traditions of opera comique and realism, it is widely acclaimed for its music, orchestration and skillful representation of emotion and suffering. It has been re-imagined in numerous screen and stage adaptations. -
The Thinker - Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin’s famous sculpture The Thinker is one of the most recognizable works in all of sculpture and depicts a nude male figure sitting on a rock, with chin resting on hand, deep in thought. A naturalist, Rodin was concerned with character and emotion as seen in physical features, and demonstrated in The Thinker in the grip of his toes on the rock, the rigidness of his back, and the differentiation of his hands. It can be found on display in museums and public places around the world. -
Antoni Gaudi - La Sagrada Familia
The cornerstone for La Sagrada Familia was laid March 19, 1882. Renowned architect Antoni Gaudi took over as chief architect in 1883, transforming it into a breathtaking architectural masterpiece. Combining both Gothic and Art Nouveau forms, more than 137 years later, his re-design remains under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2026. In 2010, Pope Benedict X consecrated and named it a minor basilica. Gaudi’s work on the facility has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. -
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a seminal work of literary Americana. This controversial work provides potent social commentary, particularly concerning race relations in America, that remains relevant today. Studied by literary critics since its publication nearly 135 years ago, its ultimate characterization as racist or anti-racist remains hotly debated. It has been adapted for numerous television, film and theatrical productions and spurred the penning of several novels. -
The Statue of Liberty - New York Harbor
The Statue of Liberty is a neoclassical sculpture gifted to the people of the U.S. by the people of France. Designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, estimated attendance at its Oct. 28, 1886 dedication in NY Harbor was nearly 1 million. It is ubiquitous in pop culture, appearing in music and film, on stamps, currency, license plates and athletic team logos. In 1966 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and in 1984, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. -
The Starry Night - Vincent Van Gogh
Arguably one of the most famous and recognizable art works ever created, The Starry Night is widely considered to be one of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest masterpieces. Housed at Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art, the painting has long been one of the institutions greatest draws, pulling in hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. The Dutch painter created this post-impressionist masterpiece while recuperating at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy, in southern France. -
The Lady of Shallott - John William Waterhouse
Housed at the Tate Gallery in London since 1894, John William Waterhouse’s 1888 oil on canvas painting The Lady of Shallott is based on the Tennyson poem of the same name. Waterhouse completed this naturalistic piece during a period of plein-air, or outdoor, painting, and critics have noted that the pre-Raphaelite style and subject matter dated back 40 years prior. It remains one of the gallery’s most popular works. -
The Eiffel Tower - Paris, France
Built as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair, the Eiffel Tower was completed in March 1889. Initially intended as a temporary structure with a 20-year lease, it has become a symbol of French culture and has now stood for more than 130 years. Drawing nearly 7 million visitors annually, it receives the most of any paid monument in the world. Immediately popular, the tower received nearly 1.9 million visitors during the 1889 World Fair and received its 200,000,000th visitor on November 28, 2002. -
The Nutcracker Suite - Tchaikovsky
First performed March 19, 1892 at the St. Petersburg branch of the Musical Society, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite was an immediate success, receiving numerous encores. A 20-minute section of the 1892 ballet, the Nutcracker has been exceptionally popular over the past 50 years, particularly during the Christmas season and accounts for about 40 percent of annual ticket revenues for most major American ballet companies. The score has been used in several film adaptations of the original story. -
The Scream - Edvard Munch
Norweigan painter Edvard Munch's 1893 iconic master work, The Scream, is a symbol of the Expressionist movement. The artist created four versions, and his 1895 version in pastel-on-board version sold at Sotheby’s auction house in 2012 for nearly $120 million – at the time, the most ever paid for a painting at auction. The Scream is a pop culture icon and its image has been used and copied on stamps and book covers, and reinvented by other artists, including cartoon, television, film makers. -
The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, was first performed Feb. 14, 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London. Marked by clever dialogue and high farce, it is one of Wilde’s most popular and enduring plays. Its satirical treatment of marriage and Victorian ideals did cause mixed critical review although it enjoyed early success until Wilde’s homosexuality was made public, he was imprisoned and the show closed. The play has enjoyed many subsequent revivals and several screen adaptations. -
The Biltmore Estate - Ashville, North Carolina
Biltmore Estate is a museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina, that attracts 1.4 million visitors every year. The main residence is a Châteauesque-style mansion designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt. It was built between 1889 -1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the country at 178,926 square feet. It remains one of the most prominent examples of Gilded Age mansions. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963 and is assessed at $157.2 million. -
The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane’s 1895 master novel, The Red Badge of Courage, was one of the first to give straightforward treatment to the horrors of war. It’s distinctive style includes realistic battle scenes and an ironic tone. Unlike traditional war stories, Crane focuses on the emotional and psychological experience and critics have debated its allegorical and symbolic aspects. The novel earned widespread acclaim shortly after publication and quickly became a bestseller. It has never been out of print. -
The Card Players - Paul Cezanne
The Card Players by Paul Cezanne, are widely considered to be some of the greatest works of the 19th century and a cornerstone of his art during that period. The one pictured here is the smallest, most famous and reproduced of the series of five paintings created between 1892 and 1896. It hangs at the Musee de Orsay in Paris. Another version sold in 2011 to the Qatar Royal Family for an estimated $250 - $320 million, and was at the time, the largest amount ever paid for a painting.
