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
1884?
date made
1884
graphic artist
Bianchi, Mose di Giosue
ID Number
GA.14593
catalog number
14593
accession number
94830
Unknown artist, about 1868“Drawing made by a Kiowa Indian”(Title given by collector Dr. Edward Palmer)Media: Pencil on paperThis Kiowa Indian drawing was likely prepared and collected in 1868 at the Kiowa and Comanche Agency in present-day Oklahoma.
Description
Unknown artist, about 1868
“Drawing made by a Kiowa Indian”
(Title given by collector Dr. Edward Palmer)
Media: Pencil on paper
This Kiowa Indian drawing was likely prepared and collected in 1868 at the Kiowa and Comanche Agency in present-day Oklahoma. Non-Indians were known to have offered paper and illustrating equipment to Plains Indians as early as the 1830s. The drawing displays a Kiowa warrior’s head and neck ornament (possibly a peace medal), and his leg sashes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
ca 1869
ca 1882
original artist
unknown
ID Number
2008.0175.51
catalog number
2008.0175.051
accession number
2008.0175
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1883
publisher
Klackner, G.
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14533
catalog number
14533
accession number
94830
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1878-1888
ID Number
CL.65.1009
accession number
256396
catalog number
65.1009
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter.
Description (Brief)
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
The New England Glass Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts was founded about 1818 by Deming Jarves along with three wealthy businessmen, and probably began producing paperweights by the mid 1850s. In 1888 the business moved to Ohio, under the name Libbey Glass Company.
This New England Glass Company faceted paperweight features a dark-blue double Clematis.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1852-1880
maker
New England Glass Company
ID Number
CE.60.110
catalog number
60.110
accession number
211475
Sallie Rayen made this poignant etching, showing a tearful young woman and her sympathetic companion, under the supervision of Stephen Ferris in March 1880. She dedicated it: “To Mr.
Description
Sallie Rayen made this poignant etching, showing a tearful young woman and her sympathetic companion, under the supervision of Stephen Ferris in March 1880. She dedicated it: “To Mr. Ferris with compliments of his pupil Sallie Rayen.” Ferris generously helped artists with their etching technique.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880-03-25
1880
graphic artist
Rayen, Sallie
ID Number
GA.14931
catalog number
14931
accession number
94830
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1885
original artist
Neuville, Alphonse Marie de
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14516
catalog number
14516
accession number
94830
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1886
graphic artist
Ferris, Jean Leon Gerome
ID Number
GA.14453.01
accession number
94830
catalog number
14453.01
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter.
Description (Brief)
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
Deming Jarves found the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company in Sandwich, Massachusetts in 1825, after leaving the New England Glass Company. The wares of these two companies can be easily confused as they shared owners, employees and managers.
This Boston & Sandwich Company paperweight is decorated with a vase of pink and white Roses against a pink, red, and white swirl latticinio (latticework) ground.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1852-1880
maker
Boston & Sandwich Glass Company
ID Number
CE.60.158
catalog number
60.158
accession number
211475
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c.
1882
ID Number
CE.P-990
catalog number
P-990
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late nineteenth century
1880s
maker
Meissen Manufactory
ID Number
CE.P-646
catalog number
P-646
accession number
225282
This engraved woodblock of an “Australian grave and carved trees” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 37 (p.76) in an article by Garrick Mallery (1831-1894) entitled “Pictographs of the North American Indians: a pr
Description
This engraved woodblock of an “Australian grave and carved trees” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 37 (p.76) in an article by Garrick Mallery (1831-1894) entitled “Pictographs of the North American Indians: a preliminary paper” in the Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1882-83.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
author
Mallery, Garrick
block maker
J. J. & Co.
ID Number
1980.0219.1206
catalog number
1980.0219.1206
accession number
1980.0219
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880s
ID Number
CE.P-107ab
catalog number
P-107ab
accession number
225282
This engraved woodblock of a “Haida totem post” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 24 (p.68) in an article by Garrick Mallery (1831-1894) entitled “Pictographs of the North American Indians: a preliminary paper” i
Description
This engraved woodblock of a “Haida totem post” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 24 (p.68) in an article by Garrick Mallery (1831-1894) entitled “Pictographs of the North American Indians: a preliminary paper” in the Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1882-83.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
author
Mallery, Garrick
block maker
J. J. & Co.
ID Number
1980.0219.1509
accession number
1980.0219
catalog number
1980.0219.1509
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
ID Number
2012.0093.27
accession number
2012.0093
catalog number
2012.0093.27
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1884
maker
Worcester Royal Porcelain Company
ID Number
CE.P-1103Aab
catalog number
P-1103Aab
accession number
225282
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1883-1884
ID Number
CL.65.1008
catalog number
65.1008
accession number
256396
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
Probably 19th century
1880
graphic artist
unknown
ID Number
GA.14521
catalog number
14521
accession number
94830
Unknown artist, about 1869“Drawing made by a Comanche Indian”[Title given by collector Dr. Edward Palmer]Media: Colored inks on paperThis drawing of a Comanche warrior was likely prepared and collected in 1869 at the Kiowa and Comanche Agency in present-day Oklahoma.
Description
Unknown artist, about 1869
“Drawing made by a Comanche Indian”
[Title given by collector Dr. Edward Palmer]
Media: Colored inks on paper
This drawing of a Comanche warrior was likely prepared and collected in 1869 at the Kiowa and Comanche Agency in present-day Oklahoma. The artist’s representation of a warrior on horseback follows a tradition of pictographic imagery which presents the subject on one plane without the illusion of depth. Here both of the warrior’s legs and leg sashes are imaged on the viewer’s side of the horse.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
ca 1868
ca 1882
ca 1868
original artist
unknown
ID Number
2008.0175.50
catalog number
2008.0175.050
accession number
2008.0175
Before becoming an international phenomenon, the Arts and Crafts movement began with the ideas of British artisan William Morris (1834-1896) and writer John Ruskin (1819-1900).
Description
Before becoming an international phenomenon, the Arts and Crafts movement began with the ideas of British artisan William Morris (1834-1896) and writer John Ruskin (1819-1900). Morris and Ruskin believed that the growth of cities isolated urban workers and that mass production negatively affected artisan crafts. They proposed to solve these issues by returning to a medieval-inspired village model where everybody participated in a community lifestyle. In the United States, artisans adapted these ideas into the studio art pottery movement. Unlike their British counterparts, who often focused predominantly on social issues and therefore made objects that incorporated Gothic and Renaissance motifs, American craftsmen developed a cohesive and novel aesthetic.
This small Rookwood vase showcases the company’s “Mahogany Standard Glaze.” Although it had been producing objects with the distinctive gradient coloration since 1885, Rookwood only began referring to the glaze as their “Standard Glaze” in 1900. This process was comparatively expensive; it was technically challenging to achieve and many of the pieces taken out of the kiln were defective. In the “Mahogany” version, the decorator airbrushed the slip yellow-tinted background onto a red clay body. Unlike traditional glaze decoration, which is actually a kind of glass, slip decoration is made from colored clay and adheres tightly to the clay surface onto which it is applied.
Like many of its counterparts, this vase features a floral motif. The trumpet flower on this vase was a popular flower in Victorian gardens and would have been easily recognized by its intended consumers: the rapidly growing American middle class.
This small Rookwood vase showcases the company’s “Mahogany Standard Glaze.” Although it had been producing objects with the distinctive gradient coloration since 1885, Rookwood only began referring to the glaze as their “Standard Glaze” in 1900. This process was comparatively expensive; it was technically challenging to achieve and many of the pieces taken out of the kiln were defective. In the “Mahogany” version, the decorator airbrushed the slip yellow-tinted background onto a red clay body. Unlike traditional glaze decoration, which is actually a kind of glass, slip decoration is made from colored clay and adheres tightly to the clay surface onto which it is applied.
Like many of its counterparts, this vase features a floral motif. The trumpet flower on this vase was a popular flower in Victorian gardens and would have been easily recognized by its intended consumers: the rapidly growing American middle class.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
maker
Rookwood Pottery
ID Number
CE.393577
catalog number
393577
accession number
208838
Solar power starts with the sun. This color lithograph is one of a set produced by Étienne L. Trouvelot (1827-1895) and published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1881. “Solar Protuberances” is based on observations of the sun Trouvelot made on 5 May 1873.
Description (Brief)
Solar power starts with the sun. This color lithograph is one of a set produced by Étienne L. Trouvelot (1827-1895) and published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1881. “Solar Protuberances” is based on observations of the sun Trouvelot made on 5 May 1873. This particular lithograph was one of several used by traveling science lecturer Charles Came and later by his son-in-law Samuel Corby during public presentations given in the latter nineteenth century.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1873-05-05
1881
maker
Charles Scribner's Sons
ID Number
1992.3092.501
nonaccession number
1992.3092
catalog number
1992.3092.501
collector/donor number
18
B69
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter.
Description (Brief)
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
The New England Glass Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts was founded about 1818 by Deming Jarves along with three wealthy businessmen, and probably began producing paperweights by the mid 1850s. In 1888 the business moved to Ohio, under the name Libbey Glass Company.
A collection of four yellow and salmon colored pears and five cherries rests on a latticinio (latticework) background in this New England Glass Company paperweight.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1852-1880
maker
New England Glass Company
ID Number
CE.65.485
catalog number
65.485
accession number
264964
collector/donor number
148
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
=1886
1886
graphic artist
Ferris, Jean Leon Gerome
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14461
accession number
94830
catalog number
14461
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1880
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14467.01
accession number
94830
catalog number
14467.01

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.