Frederick Catherwood led an impressive life, for he made a name for himself not only as an artist and architect, but also as an explorer. His travels took him to Central America in the 19th century, where he was fascinated by the ruined cities of the lost Mayan civilization. Ancient monuments and ruins had always been the subject of Catherwood's artistic works. His early paintings feature monuments of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, and Phoenicians that he visited on his travels. However, it is the paintings of Mayan temples that make him famous to this day and captivate many a viewer.
A seminal experience in Frederick Catherwood's life was his meeting with the writer John Lloyd Stephens. The two became good friends. After reading a report about the Mayan ruins of Central America, they decided without further ado to embark on an expedition of their own. Their stated goal was to create their own work with more detail and better illustrations. For over a year, they went from one ancient site to another. At many of them, the two explorers were the first to produce a description. Eventually, they jointly published several books with numerous drawings by Catherwood. These publications play a crucial role in making the Maya and their culture very present in our minds again today.
Although Catherwood's artworks show the Maya cities in their present form as ruins overgrown with trees and vines, they still give the viewer an impression of how magnificent the mighty temples must have seemed in their former glory. Each of his works expresses the fascination that this vanished world holds for many people. Unfortunately, many of Catherwood's paintings and drawings were destroyed in a fire when they were exhibited in New York City. However, some fortunately survive to this day in museums and private collections.
The adventurous life of Frederick Catherwood was to end tragically when he attempted to cross the Atlantic on the steamer "SS Arctic" in 1854. Off the coast of Newfoundland, the ship had to fight its way through dense fog. Under these circumstances, disaster struck: the "Arctic" collided with a French ship, which also had problems with navigation due to the weather. The number of lifeboats on board was not even enough to provide shelter for half of the people on board, and panic quickly spread as the "Arctic" sank into the icy waters over the course of several hours. Particularly tragic was the fact that not only Frederick Catherwood, but also all the women and children who were among the passengers, perished in this disaster. Of the approximately 400 people on board, only 85 survived.
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 - (MeisterDrucke-229132).jpg "View of El Castillo, 1844 by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Palace of the Governors, Uxmal, Yucatan, Mexico, 1844 by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Views of Ancient Monuments in Palenque, illustration from")
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.jpg "Gateway of the Great Teocallis, Uxmal by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Hieroglyphs on the Rear of a Monument at Copan, Honduras, from Volume I of")
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.jpg "Principle Court of the Palace at Palenque, illustration from")
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.jpg "Temple and Pyramid, Tulum, Yucatan, Mexico by Frederick Catherwood")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-148195).jpg "Head of Itzam Na, Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico, 1844 by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Arch of Labna, Yucatan, Mexico, illustration from")
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.jpg "Gateway of the Great Teocallis, Uxmal by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Panoramic view of Uxmal, Yucatan, Mexico, illustration from")
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.jpg "Colonnade in an Egyptian Temple, 1824-32 by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Temple, Nubia, Egypt, 1824 by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Broken Mayan idol at Copan, Guatemala by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Mountain Road by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Pyramidal Building and Fragment of Sculpture at Copan (illustration from")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-648500).jpg "Plaza at Quezaltenango by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Statues of Rameses II Outside the Entrance to the Main Temple at Abu Simbel, Egypt, 13th Century BC by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Mayan temple, Honduras by Frederick Catherwood")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-595172).jpg "Las Monjas, Chichen Itza, Yucatan, 1843 by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "The archaeologists Frederick Catherwood and John Lloyd Stephens measuring the temple of Tulum, Yucatan, Mexico, illustration from")
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.jpg "Ruins at Sabachtsche by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Nazareth by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Gateway, Casa del Gobernador, Uxmal by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Views of Ancient Monuments in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan, Pl. 20: Well of Bolonchen, 1844 by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "The Abyss of Bolonchen, State of Campeche, Mexico by Frederick Catherwood")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-593666).jpg "Well at Bolonchen, Yucatan by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Well at Bolonchen, Yucatan by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "City of Quezaltenango, Central America, 1840 by Frederick Catherwood")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-595171).jpg "Archway, Casa del Gobernador, Uxmel, Yucatan, 1843 by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Head of Itzam Na, Izamal, Yucatan, Mexico by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Restoration of the Temple of Ramases II at Thebes by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Hunter and His Guide Before the Mayan Head of Itzam Na by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "The Palenquean Group of the Cross by Frederick Catherwood")
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.jpg "Maya Stela at Copan, Honduras by Frederick Catherwood")
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