Growing up on the Upper Mississippi River valley, Lisa Middleton’s bedtime stories were tales of her parents’ adventures in Australia, south Asia, and Europe, where they were backpacking and travelling as teachers in the 1970’s. Family trips in her parents’ RV to places like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Arizona, and Florida, were the highlight […]
Archive | Map Art News
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The Art of Sherry Tuss: reflecting wildlife in watercolor
Great River Arts is proud to feature the art of Sherry Tuss in our new Living Legends collection. As Lisa has traveled the country she has met several artists to have been devoted to their trade for many years. This collection serves as additional representation for the artists and to supply affordable prints to the artists […]
Catalan Atlas: Portolan Meets Mappa Mundi
Referred to as one of the last great mappa mundis before the emergence of ptolemic maps in the 15th century, the Catalan Atlas was produced in 1375, with the originals in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (National Library of France) in Paris today. The creator of the Catalan Atlas is believed to be the Majorcan […]
The story of old maps
Mapmaking or cartography has been a part of our world’s history since ancient times. In truth, many specialists agree that map making had its beginning with cave paintings. However, the oldest known maps are carved on Babylonian clay tablets dating to about 2300 B.C. These maps were considered extremely advanced in Old World Greece. In […]
Hereford Mappa Mundi
This great, detailed, and elaborately decorated mappa mundi is believed to be the only surviving complete example of a medieval wall map of the world. It is housed in Hereford Cathedral in Hereford, England. The precise date and creator of this mappa mundi is unknown, but speculations have filled that void. Some scholars believe that […]
The Portolan Mystery: Carte Pisane Antique Map
The Portolan Mystery: Carte Pisane The mystery that is Carte Pisane Antique Map is one of the most important documents in the history of navigation. The Carte Pisane is the earliest surviving portolan chart that is speculated to have been drawn between 1290 and 1300, and is now located in the Bibliothèque Nationale Library […]
Daily Interlake, Kalispell MT Montana Life Feature “Mapquest”
Daily Interlake, Kalispell MT Montana Life Feature Story Sunday, March 13, 2016 “Mapquest”
The Sawley Mappa Mundi c.1190 Antiquarian Map
The Sawley Mappa Mundi c.1190 Modern eyes look for maps to be topographical with large-scale detail, contour lines, and accurate graphic representation of natural and cultural features of a region. They tend to serve as significant points of reference and as a navigation tool. These are the types of maps that generally make sense […]
Vast Spanish Missions in Arizona
In a land of constant change and vast exploration, much can be said about the great southwestern United States. Many claim that it was a place of new territory to be settled and conquered. According to many historians and antique map references, settlers were abundant as well as several religious and political figures. In truth, […]
Jean Lafitte, Privateer or Pirate-er?
So what is the difference between being a pirate or a privateer? Well, if you are Jean Lafitte, the difference is merely in pronunciation. We say potAYto, he says potAHto. Let’s unpack this a bit as we explore the fascinating life of one of history’s most successful pirates. His story will definitely give you something […]
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