Grounds for Sculpture, Barnes Foundation, Little Nonna's, Rittenhouse Square

2023-05-10 090. Sewards Folly, Seward Johnson; Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilon NJ

Sailing the Seine II, background.

Of course, this is a play on Secretary of State William H Seward's purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867 (about $129M in 2023). Russia did not want to sell to Britain (Canada), an opponent in their recent catastrophic defeat in the Crimean War. They also could not defend it from future attack. Far from a folly, for about two cents an acre, Alaska is rich in natural resources and increased the size of the US by 20%.