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Instead of sending the money they raised for Chicago's relief directly to the city, the staff
of the English weekly illustrated newspaper The Graphic commissioned Armitage, a
member of the Royal Academy, to commemorate the generous response to the disaster.
Armitage painted an enormous (9 by 13 1/2 feet) canvas representing how England and
America, symbolized by the lion and the eagle flanking the two classically garbed women,
provided clothing, nourishment, and comfort to their unfortunate sister. The painting was
presented to the Chicago Historical Society, but was itself destroyed by fire in the early
1950s. The above image is a lithographic reproduction. Other variations also appeared in
which the figure who stands for Chicago is more modestly draped, England and America's
dress is neo-Renaissance, and the two animal figures and the
background are drawn differently, but the central intent is maintained. Two variations are
included here. The first appeared as a supplement to The Graphic of September 6, 1873.
The second was the frontispiece to the second of the three volumes of A.T. Andreas's
History of Chicago.
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Blazing Visions 