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
ca. 1890s
maker
Stieglitz, Alfred
ID Number
PG.004124
catalog number
4124
accession number
147001
Working on assignment, Henry Horenstein photographed EmmyLou Harris (b. 1947) at her home. In the 1970s, Harris represented the generation of musicians who were influenced by traditional country, rock, and folk music.
Description
Working on assignment, Henry Horenstein photographed EmmyLou Harris (b. 1947) at her home. In the 1970s, Harris represented the generation of musicians who were influenced by traditional country, rock, and folk music. Over the years, Harris has had a profound impact on contemporary popular and country music.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1980
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.034
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.034
Pearl Butler accepts a song request from a young fan. Pearl (1927-1998) and Carl Butler (1927-1992) were part of the honky-tonk and bluegrass music movements before World War II.
Description
Pearl Butler accepts a song request from a young fan. Pearl (1927-1998) and Carl Butler (1927-1992) were part of the honky-tonk and bluegrass music movements before World War II. After their 1962 hit, "Don't Let Me Cross Over," the Butlers became one of the most popular male-female vocal teams in country music.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.076
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.076
Henry Horenstein photographed Hank Williams Jr., the son of legendary singer Hank Williams, leaving his tour bus. Williams Jr. (b. 1949) spent his early career singing his father's songs in his own style.
Description
Henry Horenstein photographed Hank Williams Jr., the son of legendary singer Hank Williams, leaving his tour bus. Williams Jr. (b. 1949) spent his early career singing his father's songs in his own style. After a 1974 suicide attempt and a mountain climbing accident in 1975, he revamped his own image, modeling it after rowdy southern rockers. Later he was considered part of the Outlaw Country Movement.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.074
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.074
At Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, musicians could hang out, perform and hope for a chance to be discovered.Currently not on view
Description
At Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, musicians could hang out, perform and hope for a chance to be discovered.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1974
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.111
catalog number
2003.0169.111
accession number
2003.0169
An intergenerational crowd leaves the Ryman Auditorium after a show. The "WSM" stands for "We Shield Millions," the motto for the insurance company that originally funded the Grand Ole Opry.Currently not on view
Description
An intergenerational crowd leaves the Ryman Auditorium after a show. The "WSM" stands for "We Shield Millions," the motto for the insurance company that originally funded the Grand Ole Opry.
Location
Currently not on view
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.060
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.060
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2010
photographer
Pflaeging, Sascha
ID Number
2012.0167.36
accession number
2012.0167
catalog number
2012.0167.36
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2010
photographer
Pflaeging, Sascha
ID Number
2012.0167.08
accession number
2012.0167
catalog number
2012.0167.08
In the 1970s and 1980s, photographer Henry Horenstein documented the lives and performances of country and bluegrass musicians. The time marked the end of an era of less commercialism and closer relationships between fans and musicians.
Description
In the 1970s and 1980s, photographer Henry Horenstein documented the lives and performances of country and bluegrass musicians. The time marked the end of an era of less commercialism and closer relationships between fans and musicians. It was a time when the casual atmosphere of outdoor venues was popular, and the music fans could often meet their favorite musicians in the parking lots or other areas of the grounds. In this image, taken in 1972 at Indian Ranch in Webster, Massachusetts, bluegrass musician and singer Joe Val (1926-1985) plays a Gibson mandolin in a picnic area. He is accompanied by other guitarists and is being watched by fans. Val (born Joseph Valiante) was an accomplished mandolinist and guitarist who played both traditional and progressive bluegrass in his band, the New England Bluegrass Boys.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1972
1972
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.072
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.072
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2010
photographer
Pflaeging, Sascha
ID Number
2012.0167.04
accession number
2012.0167
catalog number
2012.0167.04
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2010
photographer
Pflaeging, Sascha
ID Number
2012.0167.10
accession number
2012.0167
catalog number
2012.0167.10
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1967
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0139.081
accession number
1998.0139
catalog number
1998.0139.081
Norman Blake (b. 1938) ranks as one of the major bluegrass guitarists of the 1970s. Proficient with a variety of instruments, he played as a sideman to June Carter, Bob Dylan, and other artists.
Description
Norman Blake (b. 1938) ranks as one of the major bluegrass guitarists of the 1970s. Proficient with a variety of instruments, he played as a sideman to June Carter, Bob Dylan, and other artists. He played with Joan Baez in the recording of her hit, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1974
print
2003
Associated Name
Blake, Norman
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.100
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.100
Concession stands provided refreshments for park vistors.Currently not on view
Description
Concession stands provided refreshments for park vistors.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1972
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.088
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.088
A man listens to music at the Hillbilly Ranch bar.Currently not on view
Description
A man listens to music at the Hillbilly Ranch bar.
Location
Currently not on view
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.067
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.067
Fans gather around the stage to hear the husband and wife team of Carl and Pearl Butler at the Lone Star Ranch Music Park.Currently not on view
Description
Fans gather around the stage to hear the husband and wife team of Carl and Pearl Butler at the Lone Star Ranch Music Park.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.077
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.077
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2010
photographer
Pflaeging, Sascha
ID Number
2012.0167.25
accession number
2012.0167
catalog number
2012.0167.25
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2012.0093.07
accession number
2012.0093
catalog number
2012.0093.07
Carl and Pearl Butler pose for photographs with fans.Currently not on view
Description
Carl and Pearl Butler pose for photographs with fans.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
Associated Name
Butler, Pearl
Butler, Carl
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.090
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.090
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0139.022
accession number
1998.0139
catalog number
1998.0139.22
Tootsie's Orchid Lounge offered a place where hopeful musicians could put their demo 45s in the jukebox.Currently not on view
Description
Tootsie's Orchid Lounge offered a place where hopeful musicians could put their demo 45s in the jukebox.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1972
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.109
catalog number
2003.0169.109
accession number
2003.0169
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2012.0093.10
accession number
2012.0093
catalog number
2012.0093.10
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 2010
photographer
Pflaeging, Sascha
maker
Pflaeging, Sascha
ID Number
2012.0167.01
accession number
2012.0167
catalog number
2012.0167.01
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.
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
print
2003
Associated Name
Parton, Dolly
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.103
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.103

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