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.

Minna Citron (1896-1991) was an American printmaker, whose style dramatically transformed from representational to abstract art in the 1940s.
Description (Brief)
Minna Citron (1896-1991) was an American printmaker, whose style dramatically transformed from representational to abstract art in the 1940s. She became a member of Atelier 17, a renowned avant-garde print studio in New York, and was known for her experimental printmaking techniques.
"Slip Stream" is an etching and aquatint printed in 1956. The creation of "Slip Stream" and similar prints, collectively known as the series "The Uncharted Course," grew out of Citron's interest in the relationship between spontaneity and control. She embraced the inherent mishaps of printmaking and found inspiration in the accidental forms they produced. This is an example of the first state of the etching in blue.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1956
maker
Citron, Minna
ID Number
GA.21149
catalog number
21149
accession number
240678
Minna Citron (1896-1991) was an American printmaker, whose style dramatically transformed from representational to abstract art in the 1940s.
Description (Brief)
Minna Citron (1896-1991) was an American printmaker, whose style dramatically transformed from representational to abstract art in the 1940s. She became a member of Atelier 17, a renowned avant-garde print studio in New York, and was known for her experimental printmaking techniques.
"Slip Stream" is an etching and aquatint printed in 1956. The creation of "Slip Stream" and similar prints, collectively known as the series "The Uncharted Course," grew out of Citron's interest in the relationship between spontaneity and control. She embraced the inherent mishaps of printmaking and found inspiration in the accidental forms they produced. This is an example of the second state of the etching in green.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1956
original artist
Citron, Minna
ID Number
GA.21150
catalog number
21150
accession number
240678
Colored print of a view of Boston with Boston Common in the foreground and the bay in the background. Houses, churches, warehouses and industrial buildings are depicted. The bay is filled with sailing ships.
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a view of Boston with Boston Common in the foreground and the bay in the background. Houses, churches, warehouses and industrial buildings are depicted. The bay is filled with sailing ships.
Date made
1850
maker
Bachmann, John
Sarony & Major
ID Number
DL.60.3745
catalog number
60.3745
This chalkware statue of American jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) was made by Esco Products, Inc. in New York, circa 1972.
Description

This chalkware statue of American jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) was made by Esco Products, Inc. in New York, circa 1972. The statue depicts Armstrong in a burgundy jacket with white shirt, black bowtie, pants and shoes, holding a trumpet in his right hand and a handkerchief in his left hand. As in many of Esco’s celebrity statues, the heads are exaggerated in size.

The statue was given to American jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald and is inscribed on the bottom of the statue, “FROM PHOEBE.”

Location
Currently not on view
manufacturing date
ca 1972
depicted
Armstrong, Louis
ID Number
1996.0342.062
accession number
1996.0342
catalog number
1996.0342.062
Black and white print; bust portrait of a man (Henry Inman). Facsimile of sitter's signature is below the image.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Black and white print; bust portrait of a man (Henry Inman). Facsimile of sitter's signature is below the image.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
depicted
Inman, Henry
maker
Prevost, Victor
Nagel, Louis
original artist
Lazarus
ID Number
DL.60.3127
catalog number
60.3127
accession number
228146
Color print of two steamboats (the "Diana" and the "Baltic") travelling at full speed with smoke pouring from their double stacks. Other steamboats are in the background and a flatboat with several men is in the right foreground.
Description (Brief)
Color print of two steamboats (the "Diana" and the "Baltic") travelling at full speed with smoke pouring from their double stacks. Other steamboats are in the background and a flatboat with several men is in the right foreground.
Date made
1859
maker
Fuller, George F.
Weingartner, Adam
ID Number
DL.60.3292
catalog number
60.3292
Color print of a whaling scene. Huge whale in the foreground is being harpooned by a whaler while five others steady the boat. In the background is a whale boat that is being capsized by a whale and three whaling vessels.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print of a whaling scene. Huge whale in the foreground is being harpooned by a whaler while five others steady the boat. In the background is a whale boat that is being capsized by a whale and three whaling vessels.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1862
copyright holder; publisher
Charles Taber & Co.
maker
Endicott and Company
original artist
Gifford, Robert Swain
Beest, Albert Van
Russell, Benjamin
ID Number
DL.60.3249
catalog number
60.3249
Color print of a whaling scene. Two whale boats, each with four oarsman, a steersman, and a spearman, chase a whale in the foreground. Other chases take place in the background. Three whaling vessels in full sail are in the distance.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print of a whaling scene. Two whale boats, each with four oarsman, a steersman, and a spearman, chase a whale in the foreground. Other chases take place in the background. Three whaling vessels in full sail are in the distance.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1859
publisher; copyright holder
Charles Taber & Co.
maker
Endicott and Company
original artist
Beest, Albert Van
Gifford, Robert Swain
Russell, Benjamin
ID Number
DL.60.3248
catalog number
60.3248
Color print of a whaling scene; one large whaling vessel in foreground and one in the background are anchored awaiting men in smaller boats who are attacking whales.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print of a whaling scene; one large whaling vessel in foreground and one in the background are anchored awaiting men in smaller boats who are attacking whales.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.3255
catalog number
60.3255
Color print depicting a varied group of individuals along the banks of a river performing tasks related to gold mining; digging, sifting, washing, etc.
Description (Brief)
Color print depicting a varied group of individuals along the banks of a river performing tasks related to gold mining; digging, sifting, washing, etc.
Date made
n.d.
distributor
Ensign, Thayer and Company
maker
Kelloggs & Comstock
ID Number
DL.60.3829
catalog number
60.3829
Color print of a country estate with a river and sailboats in the background. Two gardeners are working on the lawn and in the left foreground is a man sitting on a bench with a dog at his feet.
Description (Brief)
Color print of a country estate with a river and sailboats in the background. Two gardeners are working on the lawn and in the left foreground is a man sitting on a bench with a dog at his feet. Sunnyside, waspurchased and renovated by Washington Irving.in 1835 and was his residence until his death in 1859. The home was purchased in 1947 by John D. Rocefeller and opened to the public. It is a National Historic Landmark.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
maker
Currier & Ives
ID Number
DL.60.3235
catalog number
60.3235
Color print of a whaling scene; two large whalers are anchored amid floating ice. Men are attacking whales from smaller boats and ice. Seals?, walrus, narwhal, are on the ice.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print of a whaling scene; two large whalers are anchored amid floating ice. Men are attacking whales from smaller boats and ice. Seals?, walrus, narwhal, are on the ice.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
maker
Baillie, James S.
Clay, Edward Williams
ID Number
DL.60.3254
catalog number
60.3254
This elegant silver vase was presented to Willard A. Smith, Chief of the Department of Transportation exhibits at the World’s Colombian Exposition in 1893. The Exposition was held in Chicago to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of America.
Description
This elegant silver vase was presented to Willard A. Smith, Chief of the Department of Transportation exhibits at the World’s Colombian Exposition in 1893. The Exposition was held in Chicago to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of America. The Exposition was a great success as a world’s fair, and demonstrated to the international community that Chicago had recovered from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Presenting silver objects has always been a means of expressing gratitude and acknowledging deeds and accomplishments in American culture. It took Tiffany & Co. six months to construct this costly Art Nouveau style vase. Its decoration takes the form of the Transportation Building. The distinct semi-circular arches are the work of architect James Sullivan, who designed the building that housed the Department of Transportation exhibits. Medallions circling the vase celebrate the progress in the modes of land and water transportation, while representations of the Department of Transportation exhibitions adorn the vase as well.
Date made
1894
user
Smith, Willard A.
maker
Tiffany & Co.
ID Number
DL.63.821
catalog number
63.821
63.281
accession number
245502
This engraved woodblock of "Marble Canyon” was prepared by engraver Edward Bookhout (1844-1886) and the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published in 1875 as Figure 26 (p.77) in Report of the Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tribu
Description
This engraved woodblock of "Marble Canyon” was prepared by engraver Edward Bookhout (1844-1886) and the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published in 1875 as Figure 26 (p.77) in Report of the Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries. Explored in 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution by John Wesley Powell (1834-1902). Thomas Moran (1837-1926) accompanied Powell on his expedition and drew the original image.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875
1875
original artist
Moran, Thomas
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
author
Powell, John Wesley
graphic artist
Bookhout, Edward
block maker
V. W. & Co.
ID Number
1980.0219.0259
catalog number
1980.0219.0259
accession number
1980.0219
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
about 1879
ID Number
CE.75.125J
catalog number
75.125J
accession number
317832
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130BC
catalog number
75.130BC
accession number
317832
Amber bottle glass. Form: Jar or bowl with double body, ring sides, no neck and large opening. Lip was ben in a triangle while glass was hot. Decorated with broad leaves in metallic blue, iridescent. Purchased from Charles Tiffany, $20.00.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Amber bottle glass. Form: Jar or bowl with double body, ring sides, no neck and large opening. Lip was ben in a triangle while glass was hot. Decorated with broad leaves in metallic blue, iridescent. Purchased from Charles Tiffany, $20.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1895
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96421
catalog number
96421
accession number
30453
maker number
4952
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
Favrile glass. Common greenish glass, with upper part colored a creamy gray. Form: two cone-shaped bodies united by three tubular necks and a middle one of triangular shape. Upper part of body has 16 sides with a circular slightly flaring lip.
Description (Brief)
Favrile glass. Common greenish glass, with upper part colored a creamy gray. Form: two cone-shaped bodies united by three tubular necks and a middle one of triangular shape. Upper part of body has 16 sides with a circular slightly flaring lip. Purchased from Charles Tiffany, $4.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893 - 96
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96430
catalog number
96430
accession number
30453
maker number
5929
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130P
catalog number
75.130P
accession number
317832
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
about 1879
ID Number
CE.75.125A
catalog number
75.125A
accession number
317832
This engraved woodblock of “Climbing the Grand Canyon” was prepared by F. S.
Description
This engraved woodblock of “Climbing the Grand Canyon” was prepared by F. S. King and the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published in 1875 on page 98 of John Wesley Powell's Report of the Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries. Explored in 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Thomas Moran (1837-1926) was the original artist.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875
1875
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
author
Powell, John Wesley
original artist
Moran, Thomas
graphic artist
King, Francis Scott
maker
V. W. & Co.
ID Number
1980.0219.0474
accession number
1980.0219
catalog number
1980.0219.0474
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130AD
catalog number
75.130AD
accession number
317832
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1901
ID Number
CE.75.121
catalog number
75.121
accession number
317832

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