Jurgan Frederick Huge
Born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1809, Jurgan Frederick Huge immigrated to the United States as a young man and settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Developments in his artistic career are reflected in changes in the city directory, which first listed him as a grocer in 1868. By 1871, the same guide recognized him as a landscape and marine artist.
If you could build a city, what would you include?
Although most of the architecture in this scene is American, the two castle-like structures in the background may have been inspired by the artist’s native Germany. Huge’s idealized inventory of life in a New England town epitomizes the values and rewards of American democracy, symbolized by the neoclassical city hall. However, the smoking volcano (probably inspired by Italy’s Mount Vesuvius) that looms over the town serves as a reminder that nature has the ultimate power over civilization.
Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chysler Garbisch
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