Art

Panorama of the Army of the Cumberland

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.

Date: 1920s

The Green Calash

"The Green Calash" is a soft ground color etching and aquatint by Ellen Day Hale (1855–1940), produced in 1925 after her 1904 painting. The print is a three-quarter-view portrait of a young woman seated with her hands resting together in her lap.
Description
"The Green Calash" is a soft ground color etching and aquatint by Ellen Day Hale (1855–1940), produced in 1925 after her 1904 painting. The print is a three-quarter-view portrait of a young woman seated with her hands resting together in her lap. She is wearing a large green bonnet or hood called a calash because of its resemblance to the folding top of an 18th-century carriage known as a calash.
"The Green Calash" was shown at the Smithsonian as part of a print exhibition in November 1936. Other exhibitors were Gabrielle DeVeaux Clements, Margaret Hoyt, and Lesley Jackson. Clements and Hale experimented extensively with color printmaking throughout their careers. They were especially inspired by French artist René Ligeron's 1924 treatise on color intaglio, which Hale translated into English for the Smithsonian exhibition. Clements wrote to curator R.P. Tolman that she and Hale had "been working on an interesting line of experiments in printing etchings in color" and that they had "lately gained better control of the medium, and greater simplicity."
The 1936 exhibition came near the end of Hale's and Clements's careers. By that time they had been producing prints for more than sixty years. Their work was included in the first exhibition of etchings exclusively by women at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1887. Curator Sylvester R. Koehler included more than 400 etchings by twenty-five artists in a very successful exhibition titled Women Etchers of America. In 1888 the Union League Club in New York exhibited the same works, plus about 100 more by eleven additional women. A traveling exhibition celebrating the centennial of these two ground-breaking shows, American Women of the Etching Revival, was organized by the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia in 1988. The NMAH lent works by Hale, Clements, and other women printmakers, and the Museum showed the exhibition in Washington in 1989.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1925
ID Number
GA.17165
catalog number
17165
accession number
142035

Camera-ready comic page, entitled "A Boy, Unknown a Month Ago..."

John T. McCutcheon (1870-1949) was a Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist, known for his political cartoons and fascination with technology, particularly aviation. In this comic page, the artist depicts the scene of "Broadcasting to the Nation from the Washington Monument in D.C.
Description
John T. McCutcheon (1870-1949) was a Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist, known for his political cartoons and fascination with technology, particularly aviation. In this comic page, the artist depicts the scene of "Broadcasting to the Nation from the Washington Monument in D.C. for President Coolidge." In the foreground, various groups, delegates, soldiers, etc. are in attendance. On reverse, "A Boy, Unknown a Month ago, is about to receive the greatest ovation ever accorded a Private citizen, June 11, 1927." This was in reference to Charles Lindbergh receiving the first Distinguished Flying Cross ever awarded.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
06/11/1927
original artist
McCutcheon, John T.
publisher
Tribune Printing Company
ID Number
GA.24191
catalog number
24191
accession number
1976.320859

Brooklyn Bridge Plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
unknown
c.1903-1929
ID Number
CE.379415
catalog number
379415
accession number
150313

cup

This is a large commemerative cup with transfer printed images of the "Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building," possibly from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition celebrating American acheivements in pottery.Currently not on view
Description
This is a large commemerative cup with transfer printed images of the "Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building," possibly from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition celebrating American acheivements in pottery.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c.1882-1925
ID Number
CE.379761
catalog number
379761
accession number
150313

Flight into Egypt

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.006
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.006

Seventeenth-Century Ship

Gerome Ferris’s unsigned pencil sketch of a ship under full sail with pennant jauntily flying in the breeze may be related to his circa 1930 painting Henry Morgan’s Knight of the Double Cross, 1670 where there is a similar ship.Currently not on view
Description
Gerome Ferris’s unsigned pencil sketch of a ship under full sail with pennant jauntily flying in the breeze may be related to his circa 1930 painting Henry Morgan’s Knight of the Double Cross, 1670 where there is a similar ship.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920s
original artist
Ferris, Jean Leon Gerome
ID Number
1985.0650.008
accession number
1985.0650
catalog number
85.0650.008

Woman on Balcony

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1929
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.117
catalog number
2016.0084.117
accession number
2016.0084

Head of Christ

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.007
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.007

"Enlist in a Proud Profession ... U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps" Poster

Physical DescriptionFour-color print on paper.Specific HistoryThe Division of Military History and Diplomacy has been collecting recruiting posters for more than fifty years.
Description
Physical Description
Four-color print on paper.
Specific History
The Division of Military History and Diplomacy has been collecting recruiting posters for more than fifty years. Recruiting as an activity of the military is important to the understanding of who serves in uniform during both war and peace and the visual materials used to market military service. The collection contains examples of early Civil War broadsides; World War I posters, including the original artwork for Uncle Sam as drawn by Montgomery Flagg; and World War II posters, which show the recruiting of men and women for all services and auxiliary organizations. The collection contains primarily Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II recruiting posters for the army, navy and some marines. More modern-day recruiting materials are also contained in the collection, and cover a broad range of army recruiting slogans.
General History
Posters during World War II were designed to instill in people a positive outlook, a sense of patriotism and confidence. They linked the war in trenches with the war at home. From a practical point, they were used to encourage all Americans to help with the war effort. The posters called on every man, woman, and child to endure the personal sacrifice and domestic adjustments to further the national agenda. They encouraged rationing, conservation, and sacrifice. In addition, the posters were used for recruitment, productivity, and motivation as well as for financing the war effort. The stark, colorful graphic designs elicited strong emotions. The posters played to the fears, frustrations, and faith in freedoms that lingered in people's minds during the war.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1942
associated dates
1942
distributor
United States. Office of War Information
printer
US Government Printing Office
issuing authority
U.S. Public Health Service
ID Number
1977.0020.041
catalog number
1977.0020.041
accession number
1977.0020

On the Way to Calvary

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.011
catalog number
2016.0084.011
accession number
2016.0084

Susanna and the Elders

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.016
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.016

The Prodigal Son

Woodcut on Japanese mitsumata paper.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Woodcut on Japanese mitsumata paper.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.001
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.001

Sleep

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1925
1927
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.029
catalog number
2016.0084.029
accession number
2016.0084

Camera-ready drawing, entitled "Busy Days in Our Trophy Room".

John T. McCutcheon (1870-1949) was a Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist, known for his political cartoons and fascination with technology, particularly aviation. In this drawing, Uncle Sam is putting another trophy on the shelf for aviation records in the US Flying Trophies Room.
Description
John T. McCutcheon (1870-1949) was a Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist, known for his political cartoons and fascination with technology, particularly aviation. In this drawing, Uncle Sam is putting another trophy on the shelf for aviation records in the US Flying Trophies Room. Picture of the Wright Brothers hanging on the right side of the drawing, and a sign on the left side that says, "If At First You Don't Succeed, Fly, Fly, Again."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
06/30/1927
original artist
McCutcheon, John T.
publisher
Tribune Printing Company
ID Number
GA.24192
catalog number
24192
accession number
1976.320859

plate

China painting swept across America in the late nineteenth century as one of the most prevalent decorative pottery techniques, especially among young women.
Description
China painting swept across America in the late nineteenth century as one of the most prevalent decorative pottery techniques, especially among young women. Considered a respectable form of work and creative outlet for women, china painting incorporated the element of hand craft that helped elevate standards of design during a period of mass production and industrialism. The technique of china painting could be done conveniently at home or in large pottery settings. Also known as “mineral painting,” after its materials, a china painter used enamels, low firing colors produced from various mineral-oxides, as a “painting” medium on pre-fired porcelain white porcelain, also known as blanks. These blank porcelain pieces were often imported from European countries, France and Germany in particular, and came in a variety of dinner ware forms and vases. The china painting technique of decorating porcelain was popularized in America by the highly influential Englishman, Edward Lycett. Trained as a potter in the English tradition at Spode pottery in Staffordshire, England, Lycett moved to America in 1861, where he almost immediately gained prestigious commissions for the White House and Tiffany & Co. His devotion to experimenting with materials and teaching pottery techniques across the country established Edward Lycett as the “pioneer of china painting in America” during his own lifetime. Ultimately, the creativity fostered by the china painting movement and the influence of Edward Lycett launched the American ceramic industry towards new and exciting avenues of decorative pottery.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
made, 1891-1908
painted, 1908-1929
ID Number
CE.74.71E
catalog number
74.71E
accession number
314093

On the Way to Calvary (variant)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.012
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.012

Assisi Arched Entryway

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1922
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.116
catalog number
2016.0084.116
accession number
2016.0084

Washington Memorial Arch Plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
unknown
c. 1903-1929
ID Number
CE.379440
catalog number
379440
accession number
150313

Salome with the Head of John the Baptist

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1927
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.055
catalog number
2016.0084.055
accession number
2016.0084

Madonna

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1925
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.025
catalog number
2016.0084.025
accession number
2016.0084

My Son

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1928
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.066
catalog number
2016.0084.066
accession number
2016.0084

Aztec Dancer, Blanche Oterson

Nickolas Muray bromide print entitled 'Aztec Dancer' ca. 1921. The dancer, Blanch Oterson, in ornate headress posed in mid-dance.Mount Recto: Dated and signed by artist (pencil). Verso: "Aztec Dancer (Blanche Oterson of the Fokine Ballet. Hippodrome, New York 1921)" (black pen).
Description (Brief)
Nickolas Muray bromide print entitled 'Aztec Dancer' ca. 1921. The dancer, Blanch Oterson, in ornate headress posed in mid-dance.
Mount Recto: Dated and signed by artist (pencil). Verso: "Aztec Dancer (Blanche Oterson of the Fokine Ballet. Hippodrome, New York 1921)" (black pen). "By Nickolas Muray. 124 Macdougal Street New York." (black pen).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1921
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.003536
catalog number
3536
accession number
67799

Samson Brooding

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
Artist
Miller, Benjamin
Associated Name
Bernard, Allen W.
maker
Miller, Benjamin
ID Number
2016.0084.015
accession number
2016.0084
catalog number
2016.0084.015

vase

China painting swept across America in the late nineteenth century as one of the most prevalent decorative pottery techniques, especially among young women.
Description
China painting swept across America in the late nineteenth century as one of the most prevalent decorative pottery techniques, especially among young women. Considered a respectable form of work and creative outlet for women, china painting incorporated the element of hand craft that helped elevate standards of design during a period of mass production and industrialism. The technique of china painting could be done conveniently at home or in large pottery settings. Also known as “mineral painting,” after its materials, a china painter used enamels, low firing colors produced from various mineral-oxides, as a “painting” medium on pre-fired porcelain white porcelain, also known as blanks. These blank porcelain pieces were often imported from European countries, France and Germany in particular, and came in a variety of dinner ware forms and vases. The china painting technique of decorating porcelain was popularized in America by the highly influential Englishman, Edward Lycett. Trained as a potter in the English tradition at Spode pottery in Staffordshire, England, Lycett moved to America in 1861, where he almost immediately gained prestigious commissions for the White House and Tiffany & Co. His devotion to experimenting with materials and teaching pottery techniques across the country established Edward Lycett as the “pioneer of china painting in America” during his own lifetime. Ultimately, the creativity fostered by the china painting movement and the influence of Edward Lycett launched the American ceramic industry towards new and exciting avenues of decorative pottery.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
made, 1901-1907
painted, 1908-1929
maker
Delinieres & Co.
ID Number
CE.74.68
catalog number
74.68
accession number
314093

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.