Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, born Manlius - Tiberias from the Baths - unknown - T-Shirt

A pale pencil panorama of Tiberias, set across open shoreline and still water beneath a line of rounded hills.

Visual Elements & Composition

The drawing is built from light, feathery pencil strokes that describe the slopes in soft layers. A cluster of low, broken buildings and walls sits at the centre of the middle distance, with a single tree standing beside it. Tufts of grass and scattered stones fill the foreground, while the paper is left almost blank above the hills, giving the scene its open, quiet feel. The inscription Tiberias from the baths runs along the lower left.

Meaning & Symbolism

Tiberias stands on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, a town known since antiquity for its hot springs and bathing installations. The view is taken from the baths, so the drawing records the settlement as a traveller would have seen it from its edge, set low against the water and the hills. The weathered buildings speak to the town's long history, and the still expanse of water and land carries the stillness that marks many views of sacred and historic sites in the region. The work comes from nineteenth-century American artist Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, born in Manlius, New York, whose travel sketches recorded the landscapes and towns he visited in the Near East. This economical, tonal handling is typical of his topographical views, and it reflects the sketches from which he developed larger compositions of the places he encountered.

Built for the Shoulder and the Stroll

A tee carries a landscape across the chest and back, so the drawing is read at conversational distance and seen from every angle as the wearer moves. The soft pencil tones and open paper suit a garment that sits close to the body and changes with each step, the way a traveller's sketch is meant to be taken in as a whole rather than studied up close.