Art - Overview
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.
"Art - Overview" showing 21 items.
Page 1 of 3
Roscoe Holcomb
- Description
- Roscoe Holcomb (1911-1981) embodied the "high, lonesome sound" of traditional Appalachian songs. A banjo player and singer, he spent most of his life in the small town of Daisy, Kentucky, working for a living with no aspirations to become a star. Smithsonian folklorist John Cohen recorded Holcomb at home in 1959. That recording led to performances at bluegrass festivals and an international tour with the Stanley Brothers.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- negative
- 1972
- 2003
- maker
- Horenstein, Henry
- ID Number
- 2003.0169.028
- accession number
- 2003.0169
- catalog number
- 2003.0169.028
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Harmonica Frank Floyd
- Description
- Photographed backstage, "Harmonica" Frank Floyd (1908-1984) was an entertainer for the better part of the 20th century. After running away from home at age twelve, he began playing harmonica in carnivals and medicine shows. His repertoire included jokes, tricks, songs, and stories.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- negative
- 1973
- 2003
- maker
- Horenstein, Henry
- ID Number
- 2003.0169.006
- accession number
- 2003.0169
- catalog number
- 2003.0169.006
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Loretta Lynn
- Description
- Loretta Lynn is a classic country singer whose life--from her autobiography, Coal Miner's Daughter--is a well-known story. She was one of the first stars to sing with a feminist point of view. Her songs, like "Don't Come Home a-Drinkin' (with Lovin' on Your Mind)" and "The Pill," broke new ground in country music. Lynn (b. 1935) and Conway Twitty were named Vocal Duo of the Year by the Country Music Association for years in a row in the early 1970s.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- negative
- 1971
- 2003
- maker
- Horenstein, Henry
- ID Number
- 2003.0169.011
- accession number
- 2003.0169
- catalog number
- 2003.0169.011
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner
- Description
- Dolly Parton joined Porter Wagoner and the Wagonmasters in 1967. She launched her solo career in 1974.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- negative
- 1972
- 2003
- maker
- Horenstein, Henry
- ID Number
- 2003.0169.018
- accession number
- 2003.0169
- catalog number
- 2003.0169.018
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Porter Wagoner
- Description
- One of the most recognizable figures in country music, Porter Wagoner was known as the "Thin Man from West Plains, Missouri." He began recording music in 1954 after several years of singing on a local radio station. In 1961, Wagoner (b. 1927) began to host his own country music television show, which was syndicated for 21 years.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- negative
- 1972
- 2003
- maker
- Horenstein, Henry
- ID Number
- 2003.0169.022
- accession number
- 2003.0169
- catalog number
- 2003.0169.022
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Doc Watson and Merle Watson
- Description
- Doc Watson (Arthel Lane Watson, b. 1923), blind since his early life, achieved national acclaim primarily as a result of his involvement in the folk song revival of the 1960s. Watson remained a powerful influence in many different forms of acoustic music, including blues, old time, country, and bluegrass. His, son Merle (1946-1985), frequently performed on guitar with him until his untimely death in a tractor accident.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- negative
- 1974
- 2003
- maker
- Horenstein, Henry
- ID Number
- 2003.0169.024
- accession number
- 2003.0169
- catalog number
- 2003.0169.024
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Little Jimmy Dickens
- Description
- Known for his strong voice and small physical stature, Jimmy Dickens (b.1920) gained national fame in 1949 and 1950 with a string of novelty and "heart" songs, including "Take an Old Cold Tater (and Wait)" and "I'm Little but I'm Loud."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- negative
- 1974
- 2003
- maker
- Horenstein, Henry
- ID Number
- 2003.0169.071
- accession number
- 2003.0169
- catalog number
- 2003.0169.071
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
George Jones
- Description
- George Jones (b.1931) is considered by many to be one of the best and most influential vocalists in country music history. His first hit was "Why Baby Why" in the summer of 1955.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- negative
- 1981
- 2003
- maker
- Horenstein, Henry
- ID Number
- 2003.0169.099
- accession number
- 2003.0169
- catalog number
- 2003.0169.099
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Jerry Lee Lewis
- Description
- Jerry Lee Lewis (b. 1935) one of the first rockabilly artists, was known for his hit songs "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (1957) and "Great Balls of Fire" (1961). Lewis's flamboyant style and sound grew out of his Louisiana upbringing, a mix of traditional country and gospel, boogie woogie on the radio, and music he heard at his uncle's honky-tonk.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- negative
- 1975
- 2003
- maker
- Horenstein, Henry
- ID Number
- 2003.0169.101
- accession number
- 2003.0169
- catalog number
- 2003.0169.101
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Dolly Parton
- Description
- Rebecca "Dolly" Parton (b. 1946) was the subject of Henry Horenstein's first published photograph. It appeared in Boston After Dark (now the Boston Phoenix). He had an hour to meet and photograph Parton, a lengthy sitting photographers today rarely have. When Horenstein photographed Parton, she already had twenty albums to her name. But the crossover hit, "Here You Come Again," made her a superstar in 1977.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- negative
- 1972
- 2003
- maker
- Horenstein, Henry
- ID Number
- 2003.0169.103
- accession number
- 2003.0169
- catalog number
- 2003.0169.103
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center