Hill of the Temple of the Sun (Panecillo), Quito, Ecuador

Frederic Edwin Church's sketch captures the Panecillo, a volcanic cone dominating Quito's skyline. The artist's fluid pen work defines the hill's monumental form against an atmospheric landscape, with notation indicating local geography and architectural features. Church traveled extensively through South America in the 1850s, translating his observations into finished studio paintings. This working drawing demonstrates the Hudson River School's commitment to direct study from nature—the foundation for Church's large-scale panoramic compositions that would establish him as America's preeminent landscape painter of the era.