Art

The National Museum of American History is not an art museum. But works of art fill its collections and testify to the vital place of art in everyday American life. The ceramics collections hold hundreds of examples of American and European art glass and pottery. Fashion sketches, illustrations, and prints are part of the costume collections. Donations from ethnic and cultural communities include many homemade religious ornaments, paintings, and figures. The Harry T Peters "America on Stone" collection alone comprises some 1,700 color prints of scenes from the 1800s. The National Quilt Collection is art on fabric. And the tools of artists and artisans are part of the Museum's collections, too, in the form of printing plates, woodblock tools, photographic equipment, and potters' stamps, kilns, and wheels.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1874
original artist
Fortuny y Carbo, Mariano
ID Number
GA.16774
catalog number
16774
accession number
119780
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1860
original artist
Fortuny y Carbo, Mariano
maker
Fortuny y Carbo, Mariano
ID Number
GA.16773
catalog number
16773
accession number
119780
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1874
graphic artist
Fortuny y Carbo, Mariano
ID Number
GA.16778
catalog number
16778
accession number
119780
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1860
graphic artist
Fortuny y Carbo, Mariano
ID Number
GA.16775
catalog number
16775
accession number
119780
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
nineteenth century
original artist
Steinle, Edward Jackob
graphic artist
Graeff, Engelhardt
maker
Steinle, Edward Jackob
ID Number
GA.14365
accession number
94830
catalog number
14365
Colored print; young man wearing a crown, red robes with white ermine trim, gold sword and onamental armor rides a white charger alongside a river. He carries a red banner with a coat of arms, and gestures toward a town on the opposite bank.
Description (Brief)
Colored print; young man wearing a crown, red robes with white ermine trim, gold sword and onamental armor rides a white charger alongside a river. He carries a red banner with a coat of arms, and gestures toward a town on the opposite bank. He is followed by a band of mounted men carrying swords and crossbows. Possibly a depiction of Wenceslas (Vaclav) IV (1361-1419), ruler of Germany and Bohemia.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
maker
Schile, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2456
catalog number
60.2456
accession number
228146
Color print; Full length portrait of a man (Louis Kossuth) standing indoors with two boys, a seated woman and girl.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print; Full length portrait of a man (Louis Kossuth) standing indoors with two boys, a seated woman and girl.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
depicted
Kossuth, Louis
Kossuth, Terezia Meszlenyi
Kossuth, Ferenc
maker
E.C. Kellogg and Company
ID Number
DL.60.3178
catalog number
60.3178
Colored print on folding gameboard. Playing surface has 33 diamond shaped positions arranged in the shape of a cross. The four corners of the board depict knights on horseback; the two on the right are engaged in combat.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print on folding gameboard. Playing surface has 33 diamond shaped positions arranged in the shape of a cross. The four corners of the board depict knights on horseback; the two on the right are engaged in combat.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1847
maker
J. H. Bufford and Company
W. & S. B. Ives
ID Number
DL.60.2367
catalog number
60.2367
accession number
228146
This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Kevin the Bold comic strip shows Kevin and the "Viking Indians" engaging in battle with Captain Spur’s army.Kreigh Collins (1908-1974) began his career as an illustrator for magazines in the 1930s. In 1950, along with writer R. R.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Kevin the Bold comic strip shows Kevin and the "Viking Indians" engaging in battle with Captain Spur’s army.
Kreigh Collins (1908-1974) began his career as an illustrator for magazines in the 1930s. In 1950, along with writer R. R. Winterbotham, Collins debuted his most popular work, the newspaper strip Kevin the Bold.
Kevin the Bold (1950-1968) was a comic strip whose star originally appeared as a supporting character in a strip called Mitzi McCoy, first published in 1948. The original strip focused on the escapades of a 20th-century socialite and heiress. When she met her 15th-century ancestor, Kevin, he became the new star and the strip was renamed for him. Kevin, originally presented as an Irish shepard, eventually becomes something of an errand boy for King Henry VIII. In 1968 Kevin was killed in a sailing accident and the strip’s name and focus changed again, this time to the name Up Anchor, set in contemporary times.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-05-29
graphic artist
Collins, Kreigh
publisher
NEA, Inc.
ID Number
GA.22482
catalog number
22482
accession number
277502
Color print; 3/4 length portrait of a man in military uniform (Louis Kossuth). He is pointing to a piece of paper that he holds in his other hand.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print; 3/4 length portrait of a man in military uniform (Louis Kossuth). He is pointing to a piece of paper that he holds in his other hand.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.3161
catalog number
60.3161
accession number
228146
Color print; full length portrait of a man in military uniform (Napoleon Bonaparte) mounted on horseback and holding a sword in his right hand. Troops are sketched in the background.This print was produced by Frederick Gleason (1814-1896).
Description (Brief)
Color print; full length portrait of a man in military uniform (Napoleon Bonaparte) mounted on horseback and holding a sword in his right hand. Troops are sketched in the background.
This print was produced by Frederick Gleason (1814-1896). a lithographer and publisher in Boston, Massachusetts. Born in September 1814 in Germany, Gleason moved to the United States in October 1836, and began his career as a bookbinder. He became a citizen in June 1840. He is best known for establishing the popular illustrated weekly Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion in 1851, modelled on the Illustrated London News. At the time an innovation in American publishing, it brought him considerable success. After the Pictorial, Gleason published Gleason's Literary Companion from 1860–70; Gleason's Home Circle from 1871–90; and Gleason's Monthly Companion from 1872–87. He was married a second time after his first wife died, and he died November 6, 1896 in Boston.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
depicted
Bonaparte, Napoleon
maker
Gleason, Frederick
ID Number
DL.60.3163
catalog number
60.3163
accession number
228146
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1874
original artist
Fortuny y Carbo, Mariano
ID Number
GA.16764
catalog number
16764
accession number
119780
catalog number
16764
French artist Paul Delaroche (1797–1856) painted several subjects from English history that were published as popular prints. He incorporated the realistic detail of genre painting into dramatic historical scenes suited to the taste of the time.
Description
French artist Paul Delaroche (1797–1856) painted several subjects from English history that were published as popular prints. He incorporated the realistic detail of genre painting into dramatic historical scenes suited to the taste of the time. His painting, The Children of Edward IV, completed in 1831 and now in the Louvre Museum, pictures Edward V and his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York, in the Tower of London awaiting Edward's coronation – or possibly another fate. In an emotional moment, they hear footsteps. Listening carefully, Richard thinks they are saved, but Edward understands that they are still in danger. The traditional view, based on Shakespeare's play Richard III, is that the princes were murdered in the Tower. Some historians blame their uncle, who succeeded to the English throne as Richard III, while others suspect his successor Henry VII who actually had more to gain from their deaths. New research suggests there may have been another factor, such as a terminal illness, which has been overlooked due to the dramatic power of Shakespeare's text.
Interest in Delaroche's painting inspired a new play by Casimir Delavigne (1793–1843), The Children of Edward. First performed in Paris in 1833, the play in turn inspired a suite of prints titled The Sons of Edward that were printed by the relatively new process of lithography. Lithography, literally drawing on stone, allowed artists to reproduce works more quickly than traditional engraving. Speed was important to capture the market created by the production of Delavigne's play, and lithography offered excellent contrasts of dark and light to heighten the suspense in the picture. The lithograph was designed by Octave Tassaert (1800–1874), an artist known for prints and paintings that conveyed a psychological approach to emotions, which is visible in the brothers' expressions. It was drawn by Hippolyte Garnier (1802–1855) and printed by Delaunois. Theatrical scenes have always been popular as prints, and an American collector donated this print and another from the series to the Museum in 1920.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1833
referenced
Shakespeare, William
depicted
Edward V King of England
designer
Tassaert, Octave
graphic artist
Garnier, Hippolyte-Louis
lithographer
Delaunois
ID Number
GA.11223.02
catalog number
11223.02
accession number
64874
Colored print of two women on the deck of a ship. One is seated, the other kneels before her. The seated woman has a handkerchief in her left hand, her right hand rests upon the shoulder of the other woman, who is playing a musical instrument.
Description (Brief)
Colored print of two women on the deck of a ship. One is seated, the other kneels before her. The seated woman has a handkerchief in her left hand, her right hand rests upon the shoulder of the other woman, who is playing a musical instrument. Heavy drapery covers the deck beneath them and flows over an ornate railing behind them.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1838
depicted
Mary I Queen of Scotland
maker
D.W. Kellogg and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2329
catalog number
60.2329
accession number
228146
This lithograph, Passage de l’armé française à; l’hospice du Mont Saint-Bernard 15 Mai 1800 by Hippolyte Bellangé, shows Napoleon’s daring crossing of the Alps via the Great St. Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border with his army of 40,000 men.
Description
This lithograph, Passage de l’armé française à; l’hospice du Mont Saint-Bernard 15 Mai 1800 by Hippolyte Bellangé, shows Napoleon’s daring crossing of the Alps via the Great St. Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border with his army of 40,000 men. It was published with eleven other military views, including the Battle of Marengo, in a portfolio. Entitled Souvenirs militaires de la Republique, du Consulat et de l’Empire (Military Memories of the Republic, the Consulate, and the Empire), the firm of Gihaut introduced the album in 1834. It was the last but one in an annual series that Bellangé inaugurated in 1823. The prints in these portfolios included military views and some genre scenes.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1833
graphic artist
Bellangé, Hippolyte
ID Number
GA.15317
catalog number
15317
accession number
94830
Colored print; battle scene of ground troops and cavalry in early 19th century European uniform. Ground is covered with snow. Soldiers are engaged in hand to hand combat with swords.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print; battle scene of ground troops and cavalry in early 19th century European uniform. Ground is covered with snow. Soldiers are engaged in hand to hand combat with swords.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1833-1843
maker
D.W. Kellogg and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2557
catalog number
60.2557
accession number
228146
In 1864, in the midst of the third year of the Civil War, a clerk in the U.S. Treasury named Justus H. Rathbone founded the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization, in Washington, D.C.
Description
In 1864, in the midst of the third year of the Civil War, a clerk in the U.S. Treasury named Justus H. Rathbone founded the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization, in Washington, D.C. He hoped that the nation, torn apart by violence and hate, could begin to heal once renewed by the spirit of brotherhood. President Lincoln, upon learning of the group, expressed his approval of its mission and values, and the Knights became the first fraternal organization in the United States to be chartered through an Act of Congress. Rathbone found inspiration for the society in the Greek legend of Damon and Pythias, a story about noble friendship which had been popularized in a 19th-century play by the Irish poet John Banim. This 1872 membership certificate recognized that a brother of the order had progressed through the ranks of Page and Esquire and been initiated as a Knight.
The print features several illustrations depicting scenes from Banim’s, play Damon and Pythias, which he adapted from the original Greek legend. In the play, Damon is sentenced to death by the cruel tyrant Dionysius. When Damon asks for permission to put his affairs in order and say goodbye to his family, his friend Pythias volunteers to wait in prison in Damon’s place. Dionysius consents to this arrangement, but warns that whomever is in Damon’s cell in six hours will be the one who is executed. Damon returns in time for his execution, battling hardship, injury, and fatigue in his determined effort to save his friend. Dionysius is so moved by their bond that he allows both men to live. In the top left vignette, armed guards bring Damon before the king, who condemns him to death. In the top right vignette, Pythias volunteers to temporarily take Damon’s place, while his friend is forcibly restrained. In the central scene, Pythias points to a sundial, knowing that Damon will arrive in time. Damon is depicted pushing his way through a crowd to save his friend. Below this scene, another illustration shows Damon arguing with his servant next to a dead horse. In the legend, Damon’s servant kills the horse in an attempt to force his master to stay. Despite this setback, Damon returns in time for his execution.
Included between these scenes are three grisaille imitation statuettes above the letters “FCB,” which stand for the Pythian principles of Friendship, Charity, and Benevolence. Two friends clasping hands represent Friendship, a woman with her fingers to her lips represents Charity, and a knight represents Benevolence.
The lithographic firm of Ehrgott & Krebs was established by Peter E. Ehrgott (1827-1874) and Adolph Krebs (1831-1884). Peter Ehrgott first started a lithographic company in 1856 in Cincinnati with his partner Adolph Forbriger (1825-1869) as Ehrgott & Forbriger. The company worked under that name from 1856 until Forbriger’s death in 1869. Ehrgott then partnered that same year with Adolph Krebs, to form Ehrgott & Krebs. Adolph Krebs had originally founded Krebs & Brothers in 1856 with his brother Otto, but left to fight in the Civil War. Ehrgott & Krebs produced sheet music, postcards, and prints, and republished some 1865 music pieces by John L. Peters. The firm continued as a partnership until the retirement of Ehrgott in 1874. Adolph Krebs continued the business and changed the name to the Krebs Lithographing Company, which he ran until his death in 1884.
The print was published by Joseph D. Weeks & Co., which was based in Pittsburgh, although Weeks himself is listed as the Supreme Inner Steward of the Iowa chapter of the Knights, a position he held from 1872 to 1874.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1872
publisher
Joseph D. Weeks & Co.
issuer
Knights of Pythias
maker
Ehrgott & Krebs
ID Number
DL.60.2399
catalog number
60.2399
accession number
228146
Colored lithographic print commemorating the death of Robert Emmet, for leading an 1803 uprising in Dublin. The Goddess of Liberty stands on a tomb holding the hearts of murdered patriots in her hand.
Description (Brief)
Colored lithographic print commemorating the death of Robert Emmet, for leading an 1803 uprising in Dublin. The Goddess of Liberty stands on a tomb holding the hearts of murdered patriots in her hand. To the right is the Figure of Death attacking Lord Norbury, the judge who sentenced Emmet for High Treason. The Scales of Justice lie broken by his side. To the left of the tomb is a representation of the Maid of Erin weeping over murdered Innocence (two children). Beneath the image is the text of Robert Emmet's speech delivered at trial.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
depicted
Emmet, Robert
publisher; distributor
Smith, William
depicted
Norbury, Lord
maker
Schnabel & Finkeldey
ID Number
DL.60.2412
catalog number
60.2412
accession number
228146
Colored print of twelve men gathered in a gothic-paneled room around an oval table covered with a gold-fringed green cloth. Some are seated, others are standing.
Description (Brief)
Colored print of twelve men gathered in a gothic-paneled room around an oval table covered with a gold-fringed green cloth. Some are seated, others are standing. The men are identified as, Daniel O'Connell, Edmund Burke, Marshall Patrick Scarsfield, Henry Grattan, Oliver Goldsmith, Theobald Wolfetone, Robert Emmet, Gerald Griffin, John Philpot Curran, John Fox, Thomas Moore, and Major General Owen Roe O'Neil.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
maker
Schile, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2459
catalog number
60.2459
accession number
228146
Color advertising print of a fashionably dressed couple being waited on by two small Indians. The Indians wear gold-trimmed dresses with sunflower-shaped collars and ankle bands.
Description (Brief)
Color advertising print of a fashionably dressed couple being waited on by two small Indians. The Indians wear gold-trimmed dresses with sunflower-shaped collars and ankle bands. Testimonial text beneath the image ends with the statement that "These wonderful Children are on exhibition every day and evening at BARNUM's AMERICAN MUSEUM..."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
advertiser
Barnum Museum
maker
Currier & Ives
ID Number
DL.60.3491
catalog number
60.3491
Colored print of a bearded Columbus wearing a long purple cape and kneeling before king and queen who stand on a throne. Behind Columbus are three Indians bearing gifts. Also in the room are soldiers, courtiers, monks and scholars observing the proceedings.
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a bearded Columbus wearing a long purple cape and kneeling before king and queen who stand on a throne. Behind Columbus are three Indians bearing gifts. Also in the room are soldiers, courtiers, monks and scholars observing the proceedings. The setting is a Gothic style audience room decorated with statues. Proof before letters.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
depicted
Columbus, Christopher
Isabella I Queen of Spain
Ferdinand V King of Spain
maker
Schile, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2474
catalog number
60.2474
accession number
228146
Color print; full length portrait of man (Daniel O'Connell) standing by a tree with a dog at his side. A large country house is in the right background.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print; full length portrait of man (Daniel O'Connell) standing by a tree with a dog at his side. A large country house is in the right background.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
depicted
O'Connell, Daniel
maker
Haskell & Allen
ID Number
DL.60.3142
catalog number
60.3142
accession number
228146
Colored print of Christopher Columbus bidding farewell to his family and friends. He is about to step into a small boat to take him to a larger ship in the background.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of Christopher Columbus bidding farewell to his family and friends. He is about to step into a small boat to take him to a larger ship in the background.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1869
depicted
Columbus, Christopher
maker
H. Schile and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2439
catalog number
60.2439
accession number
228146
Color print; full length portrait of a man in military uniform (Napoleon Bonaparte) mounted on horseback.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print; full length portrait of a man in military uniform (Napoleon Bonaparte) mounted on horseback.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
depicted
Bonaparte, Napoleon
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.3162
catalog number
60.3162
accession number
228146

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