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: 1960s

Camera-ready comic strip, entitled "Aggie".

Originally drawn as "Aggie Mack" by Hal Rasmusson in 1946, Roy Fox took over the comic strip in 1962 at the time of Rasmusson's death, shortening the title to "Aggie". The strip features the adventures of a blond teenager named Agnes (Aggie) and her friends.
Description
Originally drawn as "Aggie Mack" by Hal Rasmusson in 1946, Roy Fox took over the comic strip in 1962 at the time of Rasmusson's death, shortening the title to "Aggie". The strip features the adventures of a blond teenager named Agnes (Aggie) and her friends. In this strip, Wayout is describing the perfect person: himself.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
08/15/1966
graphic artist
Fox, Roy
publisher
Tribune Printing Company
ID Number
GA.22628
catalog number
22628
accession number
277502

Painting -Law of Orbiting Velocity (Kepler)

This piece is a further example of Crockett Johnson's exploration of Kepler’s first two laws of planetary motion. The ellipse represents the path of a planet, and the white sections represent equal areas swept out in equal times.
Description
This piece is a further example of Crockett Johnson's exploration of Kepler’s first two laws of planetary motion. The ellipse represents the path of a planet, and the white sections represent equal areas swept out in equal times. This work, a silk screen inked on paper board, is signed: CJ66. It is #76 in the series, and it echoes painting #22 (1979.1093.16) and painting #99 (1979.1093.66).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966
referenced
Kepler, Johannes
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.50
catalog number
1979.1093.50
accession number
1979.1093

Camera-ready comic art drawing for Hubert

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Hubert comic strip shows the title character suspecting his wife of cheating at Checkers because she knocked over the Checkers table while she was sneezing.Richard C.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Hubert comic strip shows the title character suspecting his wife of cheating at Checkers because she knocked over the Checkers table while she was sneezing.
Richard C. "Dick" Wingert (1919-1993) studied art in Indianapolis beginning in 1937. His career began as an artist for the U.S. Army newspaper Stars and Stripes, where his single comic character, a simple soldier named Hubert, was debuted. The character's wife, children, and dog were included in the story of his later civilian life. Wingert drew the strip until 1992.
Hubert (1942-1994), a single-panel comic strip concerning an ordinary soldier, was produced for Stars and Stripes. After the war the title character became a civilian and went back to everyday life, with its repetitious, disagreeable, and unsatisfying components.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-09-07
graphic artist
Wingert, Dick
publisher
King Features Syndicate
ID Number
GA.22439
catalog number
22439
accession number
277502

Camera-ready comic strip, entitled Mr. Breger

Mr. Breger (also published as Private Breger and G.I. Joe during World War II) was created by Dave Breger (1908-1970), syndicated by King Features from 1946-1960s. Breger has been credited with creating the term "G.I.
Description
Mr. Breger (also published as Private Breger and G.I. Joe during World War II) was created by Dave Breger (1908-1970), syndicated by King Features from 1946-1960s. Breger has been credited with creating the term "G.I. Joe", replacing the term "Yank" to describe American soldiers. The comic is a gag-panel about life in the military. In this comic, The Bregers go to the attorney to discover what Mr. Breger's uncle willed to him.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
8/21/1966
publisher
King Features Syndicate
ID Number
GA.22334
catalog number
22334

Camera-ready comic art drawing for Ferd'nand

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Ferd’nand comic strip shows the title character looking for his glasses.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Ferd’nand comic strip shows the title character looking for his glasses. He cannot remember where he left them until he sits down to read the newspaper and realizes he's just broken them.
Henning Dahl Mikkelsen (1915-1982) was a Danish comic artist who worked in animation in Copenhagen and in filmmaking in London. In 1937 he created the Ferd’nand strip, which was syndicated in European and later American newspapers. Mikkelsen became an American citizen in 1954. He continued writing the strip until his death in 1982.
Ferd’nand (1937-2012) was first published in Copenhagen in 1937. It became syndicated and was first published in the United States in 1947. The characters in the strip included Ferd'nand, his wife, his son, and the family dog. The likable and extended strip also became popular with international readers because of its lack of dialogue.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-08-24
graphic artist
Mikkelsen, Henning Dahl
publisher
United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
ID Number
GA.22641
catalog number
22641
accession number
277502

Winter Morning in the Country

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969
1962
original artist
Palmer, Frances F.
publisher
Travelers Companies, Inc.
ID Number
2012.3050.05.13
nonaccession number
2012.3050
catalog number
2012.3050.05.13

Cherry Time

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969
original artist
Palmer, Frances F.
publisher
Travelers Companies, Inc.
ID Number
2012.3050.05.06
nonaccession number
2012.3050
catalog number
2012.3050.05.06

Camera-ready comic art drawing for Dondi

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Dondi comic strip shows Baldy and Dondi talking about how the bike they thought was missing was actually secretly purchased by Baldy's parents for his birthday.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Dondi comic strip shows Baldy and Dondi talking about how the bike they thought was missing was actually secretly purchased by Baldy's parents for his birthday. The reader then sees a man sitting in a jail cell.
Irwin Hasen (1918-2015) started his career in comic book illustration for titles such as The Green Hornet and The Flash. After service in the U.S. Army Hasen returned to comic book production, but while on holiday in Europe he met Gus Edson, with whom he later collaborated on Dondi. The strip, written by Edson and drawn by Hasen, debuted in 1955. After Edson’s death in 1966, Hasen continued drawing and writing the strip.
Dondi (1955-1986), the title character, was the inspiration of cocreator Gus Edson after a USO trip to Europe during World War II. The young, orphaned Italian boy was found by an American soldier named Ted Willis, who took him back to the United States. The early comic strip story discussed Dondi's Italian history and new American life. Later, during and after the Korean and Vietnam wars, Dondi's heritage in the strip changed to fit a similar story in the later wars. A film adaptation of Dondi premiered in 1961.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-08-17
author
Hasen, Irwin
graphic artist
Edson, Gus
publisher
Tribune Printing Company
ID Number
GA.22626
catalog number
22626
accession number
277502

Camera-ready comic panel, entitled "Here's Mom".

"Here's Mom" was a series of comic panels created and drawn by Jud Isabel and distributed by the Chicago Tribune Syndicate between 1961 and 1970. The comic featured the domestic trials of everyday mothers.
Description
"Here's Mom" was a series of comic panels created and drawn by Jud Isabel and distributed by the Chicago Tribune Syndicate between 1961 and 1970. The comic featured the domestic trials of everyday mothers. In this panel, Mom comes home to find cupcakes and a mess in her kitchen, with her daughter baking. Written in blue ink beneath the picture, "Hi mom! Guess what I learned to make in school today!"
Location
Currently not on view
date made
08/22/1965
publisher
Tribune Printing Company
ID Number
GA.22349
catalog number
22349
accession number
277502

A Dessert of Fruit

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969
1962
original artist
Palmer, Frances F.
publisher
Travelers Companies, Inc.
ID Number
2012.3050.05.15
nonaccession number
2012.3050
catalog number
2012.3050.05.15

Camera-ready comic strip, entitled Alley Oop

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Alley Oop comic strip shows Paleolithic cavemen trying to organize an “Eating Club.” Then they discuss the concept of eating first and organizing later.Vincent Trout "V.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Alley Oop comic strip shows Paleolithic cavemen trying to organize an “Eating Club.” Then they discuss the concept of eating first and organizing later.
Vincent Trout "V. T." Hamlin (1900-1993) studied art and journalism after his service in World War I. His comic strip Alley Oop was first published in 1932. The storyline is said to have been inspired during his work for a Texas oil company during the 1920s. Hamlin wrote and drew the strip until 1971.
Alley Oop (1932- ) is a comic strip set in prehistoric times. The cast includes the title character; his girlfriend, Oola; his best friend, Foozy; his adversary, King Guz; and his pet dinosaur, Dinny. Alley Oop has been known for its liberal use of time and space travel. Oop and his friends have visited Ancient Egypt, Crusades-era Europe, and the moon. Over the years, the title character was also included in comic books and in the television-animated Saturday series called the Fabulous Funnies.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-05-19
graphic artist
Hamlin, Vincent T.
publisher
NEA, Inc.
ID Number
GA.22467
catalog number
22467
accession number
277502

Camera-ready comic art drawing for Emmy Lou

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Emmy Lou newspaper strip shows Emmy Lou thinking that her mother is setting her up on a date with a neighbor’s son, when it turns out that the boy is much younger and a cub scout.Martha B.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Emmy Lou newspaper strip shows Emmy Lou thinking that her mother is setting her up on a date with a neighbor’s son, when it turns out that the boy is much younger and a cub scout.
Martha B. "Marty" Links's (1917-2008) early career included work in 1940 at the San Francisco Chronicle, where she contributed to a recurring feature called Women’s World. Links started the comic strip Bobby Sox in 1944, and later changed the title to Emmy Lou. She used a man’s name to sell her drawings to newspapers and advertising agencies. After Links ended the strip, she designed greeting cards for Hallmark until her retirement in 1999.
Emmy Lou (1944-1979), originally Bobby Sox, told the story of a young girl’s dealings with adolescence. "Bobby soxers," a name given to teenage girls of the 1940s, usually denoted fans of swing music and followers of certain fashion trends, most notably the poodle skirt and rolled ankle socks. Links eventually decided that her concept of teenage girls was no longer relevant, especially because her own daughters, the inspirations for the Emmy Lou character, were becoming adults. She discontinued the strip in 1979.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-08-14
graphic artist
Links, Marty
publisher
United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
ID Number
GA.22473
catalog number
22473
accession number
277502

Camera-ready comic art drawing for Aggie

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Aggie comic strip shows the character Wayout coming over to Aggie’s house to find her staring at a coconut.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Aggie comic strip shows the character Wayout coming over to Aggie’s house to find her staring at a coconut. After Wayout determines that the coconut might be a “hairy cantaloupe,” Aggie says she wants to get the milk out of the coconut, and Wayout’s follow-up quip results in his being thrown out of the house.
Roy L. Fox (1924- ) debuted his first work in The Philadelphia Bulletin in 1939. He began drawing Aggie Mack (later Aggie) after the death, in 1962, of creator Hal Rasmussen.
Aggie Mack, and later Aggie, (1946-1972) was a comic strip about a girl in her early teens. Aggie was raised by her father’s second wife, who favored her own daughter, Mona. Aggie's homelife interactions became less central to the strip over the years, and Aggie began to be shown in contemporary teenager, community-based situations. The strip was also popular overseas, particularly in France, where it appeared under the name Fillettes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-07-17
graphic artist
Fox, Roy
publisher
Tribune Printing Company
ID Number
GA.22504
catalog number
22504
accession number
277502

Bob Dylan's Desk at the Castle

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
1966
user
Dylan, Bob
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0139.023
accession number
1998.0139
catalog number
1998.0139.23

Sunny Side

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969
1962
original artist
Palmer, Frances F.
publisher
Travelers Companies, Inc.
ID Number
2012.3050.05.16
nonaccession number
2012.3050
catalog number
2012.3050.05.16

Camera-ready comic art drawing for Grin and Bear It

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Grin and Bear It comic panel shows folk-rock singers Toots and Trog listening to the producer's reaction to a film pitch, which he claims diverges from the unoriginal boy-meets-girl story.George Maurice "Lichty" Lichtenstein (1905-1983) s
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Grin and Bear It comic panel shows folk-rock singers Toots and Trog listening to the producer's reaction to a film pitch, which he claims diverges from the unoriginal boy-meets-girl story.
George Maurice "Lichty" Lichtenstein (1905-1983) sold his first cartoon to Judge magazine. In 1929 he started drawing cartoons for the Chicago Daily Times. He launched the daily and Sunday panel cartoon Grin and Bear It in 1932.
The Sunday comic design for Grin and Bear It (1932- ) was presented using unrelated panels. The strip had few regular characters or continuous stories. Grin and Bear It covers a variety of topics, including political and international adversaries of the day. Creator George Lichty drew the panel until his retirement in 1974.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-06-30
publisher
Publishers Newspapers Syndicate, Inc.
graphic artist
Lichty, George
ID Number
GA.22382
catalog number
22382
accession number
277502

Painting - Squares of a 3-4-5 Triangle in Scalene Perspective (Dürer)

This painting, while similar in subject to the painting entitled Perspective (Alberti), depicts three planes perpendicular to the canvas. These three planes provide a detailed, three-dimensional view of space through the use of perspective.
Description
This painting, while similar in subject to the painting entitled Perspective (Alberti), depicts three planes perpendicular to the canvas. These three planes provide a detailed, three-dimensional view of space through the use of perspective. Three vanishing points are implied (though not shown) in the painting, one in each of the three planes.
The painting shows a 3-4-5 triangle surrounded by squares proportional in number to the square of the side. That is, the horizontal plane contains nine squares, the vertical plane contains sixteen squares, and the oblique plane, which represents the hypotenuse of the 3-4-5 triangle, contains twenty-five squares. This explains the extension of the vertical and oblique planes and reminds the viewer of the Pythagorean theorem.
The title of this painting points to the role of the German artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) in creating ways of representing three-dimensional figures in a plane. Dürer is particularly remembered for a posthumously published treatise on human proportion. In his book entitled The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer, art historian Erwin Panofsky explains that the work of Dürer with perspective demonstrated that the field was not just an element of painting and architecture, but an important branch of mathematics.
This construction may well have originated with Crockett Johnson. However, he may have been influenced by Figure 1 (p. 604) and Figure 3 (p. 608) in Panofsky’s article on Dürer as a Mathematician in The World of Mathematics, edited by James R. Newman (1956). Johnson did not annotate either of these diagrams. The oil painting was completed in 1965 and is signed: CJ65. It is #8 in his series of mathematical paintings.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
referenced
Duerer, Albrecht
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.04
catalog number
1979.1093.04
accession number
1979.1093

Painting - Conic Curve (Apollonius)

In ancient times, the Greek mathematician Apollonius of Perga (about 240–190 BC) made extensive studies of conic sections, the curves formed when a plane slices a cone.
Description
In ancient times, the Greek mathematician Apollonius of Perga (about 240–190 BC) made extensive studies of conic sections, the curves formed when a plane slices a cone. Many centuries later, the French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650) showed how the curves studied by Apollonius might be related to points on a straight line. In particular, he introduced an equation in two variables expressing points on the curve in terms of points on the line. An article by H. W. Turnbull entitled "The Great Mathematicians" found in The World of Mathematics by James R. Newman discussed the interconnections between Apollonius and Descartes, and apparently was the basis of this painting. The copy of this book in Crockett Johnson's library is very faintly annotated on this page. Turnbull shows variable length ON, with corresponding points P on the curve.
The analytic approach to geometry taken by Descartes would be greatly refined and extended in the course of the seventeenth century.
Johnson executed his painting in white, purple, and gray. Each section is painted its own shade. This not only dramatizes the coordinate plane but highlights the curve that extends from the middle of the left edge to the top right corner of the painting.
Conic Curve, an oil or acrylic painting on masonite, is #11 in the series. It was completed in 1966 and is signed: CJ66. It is marked on the back: Crockett Johnson 1966 (/) CONIC CURVE (APOLLONIUS). It has a wooden frame.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966
referenced
Apollonius of Perga
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.06
catalog number
1979.1093.06
accession number
1979.1093

Painting - Pendulum Momentum (Galileo)

The Greek mathematician Aristotle, who lived from about 384 BC through 322 BC, believed that heavy bodies moved naturally downward, while lighter substances such as air naturally ascended.
Description
The Greek mathematician Aristotle, who lived from about 384 BC through 322 BC, believed that heavy bodies moved naturally downward, while lighter substances such as air naturally ascended. Other forms of terrestrial motion required a sustaining force, which was not expressed mathematically. The Italian Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) challenged Aristotle. He held that motion was persistent and would continue until acted upon by an opposing, outside force.
In a book entitled Dialogues Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Galileo presented his ideas in a dispute between three men: Salviati, Sagredo, and Simplicio. Salviati, a spokesman for Galileo, explained his revolutionary ideas, one of which is illustrated by a diagram that was the basis for this painting. This image can be found in Crockett Johnson's copy of The World of Mathematics, a book by James R. Newman. It is probable that this image served as inspiration for this painting, although Johnson did not annotate this diagram.
In Galileo's Dialogues, Salviati argued that if a lead weight is suspended by a thread from point A (see figure) and is released from point C, it will swing to point D, which is located at the same height as the initial point C. Furthermore, Salviati stated that if a nail is placed at point E so that the thread will snag on it, then the weight will swing from point C to point B and then up to point G, which is also located at the same height as the initial point C. The same occurs if a nail is placed at point F below the line segment CD.
The painting is executed in purple that progresses from light tints to darker shades right to left. This gives the figure a sense of motion akin to that of a pendulum. The background is washed in gray and black. The line created by the initial and final height of the weight divides the background.
Pendulum Momentum, a work in oil on masonite, is painting #13 in the Crockett Johnson series. It was executed in 1966 and is signed: CJ66. There is a wooden frame painted black.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966
referenced
Galilei, Galileo
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.08
catalog number
1979.1093.08
accession number
1979.1093

Painting - Law of Orbiting Velocity (Kepler)

This work illustrates two laws of planetary motion proposed by the German mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) in his book Astronomia Nova (New Astronomy) of 1609. Kepler argued that planets move about the sun in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus of the ellipse.
Description
This work illustrates two laws of planetary motion proposed by the German mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) in his book Astronomia Nova (New Astronomy) of 1609. Kepler argued that planets move about the sun in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus of the ellipse. He also claimed that a planet moves about the sun in such a way that a line drawn from the planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times. The ellipse in the work represents the path of a planet and the white sections equal areas. The extraordinary contrast between the deep blue and white colors dramatize this phenomenon.
This oil painting on masonite has a wooden frame. It is signed: CJ65. It also is marked on the back: Crockett Johnson 1965 (/) LAW OF ORBITING VELOCITY (/) (KEPLER). It is #22 in the series. The work follows an annotated diagram from Crockett Johnson’s copy of Newman's The World of Mathematics (1956), p. 231. Compare to paintings #76 (1979.1093.50) and #99 (1979.1093.66).
Reference: Arthur Koestler, The Watershed (1960).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
referenced
Kepler, Johannes
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.16
catalog number
1979.1093.16
accession number
1979.1093

Blind Man's Bluff

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969
1962
original artist
Palmer, Frances F.
publisher
Travelers Companies, Inc.
ID Number
2012.3050.05.14
nonaccession number
2012.3050
catalog number
2012.3050.05.14

Camera-ready comic art drawing for Etta Kett

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Etta Kett comic strip shows a teenage girl talking to her father about her interest in sports, which coincided with her interest in star athletes.Paul Dowling Robinson (1898-1974) began his work as a cartoonist in New York in 1919.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Etta Kett comic strip shows a teenage girl talking to her father about her interest in sports, which coincided with her interest in star athletes.
Paul Dowling Robinson (1898-1974) began his work as a cartoonist in New York in 1919. He worked on the Samson and Delia strip in 1924 and then in 1925 debuted Etta Kett, about the life of contemporary teenagers, which became a daily and a Sunday comic strip. Robinson also drew a strip called The Love-Byrds, which started out as a topper (or secondardy strip) for the Sunday page of Etta Kett. He drew both strips until his death in 1974.
Etta Kett (1925-1974) began as a comic panel series about manners and etiquette. It was later redeveloped as a comic strip about a middle-class teenage girl named Etta and her high school adventures with friends and boyfriends. The main character, Etta, continued to be described as innocent and well-mannered in the face of conspicuous societal changes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-09-22
graphic artist
Robinson, Paul
publisher
King Features Syndicate
ID Number
GA.22380
catalog number
22380
accession number
277502

Painting - Harmonic Series from a Quadrilateral (Pappus)

The concept of a harmonic set of points can be traced back through Girard Desargues (1591–1661) and Pappus of Alexandria (3rd century AD) to Apollonius of Perga (240–190 BC). Crockett Johnson's painting seems to be based upon a figure associated with Pappus.
Description
The concept of a harmonic set of points can be traced back through Girard Desargues (1591–1661) and Pappus of Alexandria (3rd century AD) to Apollonius of Perga (240–190 BC). Crockett Johnson's painting seems to be based upon a figure associated with Pappus. It is likely that Crockett Johnson was inspired by a figure found in H. W. Turnbull's article "The Great Mathematicians" found in his copy of James R. Newman's The World of Mathematics, p. 111. This figure is annotated.
The construction begins with a given set of collinear points (A, B, and Y). An additional point (W) is sought such that AW, AB, and AY are in harmonic progression. That is, the terms AW, AB, and AY represent a progression of terms whose reciprocals form an arithmetic progression. To do this, any point Z, not on line AB, is chosen, and line segments ZA and ZB are constructed. Next, any point D, on ZA, is chosen, and DY, which will intersect ZB at C, is constructed. AC and DB intersect each other at X, and ZX will intersect AB at W. The location of point W is entirely independent of the choice of points Z and D. It follows that AW, AB, and AY form a harmonic progression, and thus the points A, W, B, and Y form a harmonic set.
Crockett Johnson flipped the annotated image for his painting. The boldest portion of his painting, and thus the area with greatest interest, is the quadrilateral ABCD. In addition, the background of his painting is divided into three differently colored sections to illustrate the harmonic series constructed from the quadrilateral. This careful color choice reinforces the painting's title.
This painting was executed in oil on masonite and is painting #24 in the series. It was completed in 1966 and is signed: CJ66. It is marked on the back: Crockett Johnson 1966 (/) HARMONIC SERIES FROM A QUADRILATERAL (/) (PAPPUS). It has a gray wooden frame.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966
referenced
Pappus
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.18
catalog number
1979.1093.18
accession number
1979.1093

Brown Moons

Abstract color lithograph, signed and dated inside the border on the right. Edition 11/23.Currently not on view
Description
Abstract color lithograph, signed and dated inside the border on the right. Edition 11/23.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1961
ID Number
GA.21171
catalog number
21171
accession number
241588

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