John Caspar Wild (or J.C. Wild) (1804 – August 12, 1846) was a Swiss-American painter and lithographer. He created early city views and landscapes of Philadelphia; Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Louis, and Davenport. He specialized in hand-colored lithographs. These views, particularly the Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated, were some of the first depictions of the American West. Wild was born in Richterswil, Canton Zürich, Switzerland. He moved to Paris, France. In 1832, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He later moved to St. Louis, Missouri. In summer 1844, he moved a final time, to Davenport, Iowa, a small town in the upper Mississippi River valley. Wild fell gravely ill with tuberculosis in the summer of 1846, and he was taken in by Davenport millinery businessman George L. Webb. On his deathbed, Wild reflected upon his childhood and he yearned to die in his Swiss homeland; it was a wish that was to not be fulfilled. Wild died on August 12, 1846. Wild was laid to rest nearly on the banks of the river, which he had painted for years. Wild's grave site was unmarked for decades. Notable collections University of Pennsylvania, 1842, from collection of The Library Company of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Hospital, circa 1840, The Library Company of Philadelphia Further reading Reps, John William, and J. C. Wild. 2006. John Caspar Wild: painter and printmaker of nineteenth-century urban America. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press. Designed by Steve Hartman of Creativille, Inc. Wild, J. C., and Lewis Foulk Thomas. 1948. The valley of the Mississippi: illustrated in a series of views, accompanied with historical descriptions. St. Louis, Mo: Joseph Garnier. (this is a reprint; original edition published 1841–2) References External links John Cushman Abbott Exhibit Supplement includes a discussion of Wild and his book The Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated in a Series of Views, a slide show of illustrations from the book, and a downloadable pdf of the book. 1804 births 1846 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters American landscape painters American lithographers Swiss painters People from Richterswil Swiss emigrants to the United States People from Davenport, Iowa