In Sight of the New World

Peter Kohlbeck was a portrait painter in New York City during the latter half of the 1850’s. After that period he worked as a photographer. Three of his portraits are included in the collection of the New York Historical Society.

Kohlbeck took this composition from the original painting by the famous German historical painter Christian Ruben, created about 1840. It has been copied by countless artists over the years. Washington Irving used an engraving of the scene to illustrate his famous volumes on The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, published in 1892.