View of the Lighthouse at Cape Henry Virginia, Looking to the North

Description

Ink and watercolor on paper drawing of "View of the Lighthouse at Cape Henry Virginia, Looking to the North", ca. 1798, from the Latrobe Sketchbooks, by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. The scene features the Cape Henry Lighthouse, located on the Cape, which is a part of modern day Virginia Beach. To the right of the lighthouse is the light keepers house and the figure is presumably the keeper. The lighthouse is made of sandstone and was completed in October 1792. In the distance there are several sailing ships out in the Chesapeake Bay. Though a second, and improved, lighthouse was built next to the first in 1881, it was never torn down and remains standing today.