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This tinted lithograph, "Monuments, Near Monument Creek," executed by Alfred E. Mathews in 1866, illustrates an unusual geological formation in the Colorado Rockies near Colorado Springs and was originally issued in Mathew's famed color plate book Pencil Sketches of Colorado, its Cities, Principal Towns and Mountain Scenery.
The lithograph highlights these wind-carved structures with their flat tops and tree-stump-like bases. These formations, carved by the forces of erosion and time, are depicted amidst the backdrop of a sparse and serene landscape, which suggests the isolation and untouched quality of the region during the mid-19th century. Five human figures can be seen, lending a sense of scale to the scene.
A. E. Mathews, having refined his artistic skills during his service as a Union soldier, embarked on a mission to document Colorado in 1865, a time when the region was gaining notoriety for its lucrative mineral deposits. His dual objectives were to showcase the picturesque environment of the mountainous terrain and to illustrate the burgeoning mining areas central to the state's economy. The scenes he captured provide a rich visual narrative of Colorado during a transformative period of mining booms and settlement expansion.
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