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.

Place: New York

dish

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
about 1879
ID Number
CE.75.125F
catalog number
75.125F
accession number
317832

bowl, soup

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130C
catalog number
75.130C
accession number
317832

cup

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130BQ
catalog number
75.130BQ
accession number
317832

Snipe

Colored print of a snipe (bird) with grassy plains in the background.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a snipe (bird) with grassy plains in the background.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1832
maker
Clonney, James Goodwyn
Mesier's Lith
ID Number
DL.60.2701
catalog number
60.2701
accession number
228146

Tiffany vase

Favrile glass. Body of common bottle glass. Form: Flattened bulbous body with large, high tapering cylindrical neck would with a spiral thread of glass. Decorated with glass coating which changes according to the light from a deep blue green to a red purple.
Description (Brief)
Favrile glass. Body of common bottle glass. Form: Flattened bulbous body with large, high tapering cylindrical neck would with a spiral thread of glass. Decorated with glass coating which changes according to the light from a deep blue green to a red purple. Purchased from William Tiffany, $25.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1895
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96424
catalog number
96424
accession number
30453
maker number
x 137 (etched)

"Orange Peel;" coverlet; overshot; c. 1790-1825

This blue and white, overshot coverlet was woven in a simplified version of the “Orange Peel” pattern. The two-paneled coverlet measures ninety-four inches in length by seventy-two inches wide.
Description
This blue and white, overshot coverlet was woven in a simplified version of the “Orange Peel” pattern. The two-paneled coverlet measures ninety-four inches in length by seventy-two inches wide. The plain weave ground cloth is made up of natural or unbleached linen or cotton warp and weft yarn and the supplementary pattern weft is a 2-ply wool yarn. There is some staining and slight discoloration, but overall this coverlet is in fairly good condition. Because the donor collected this coverlet from and unknown sources, the date and maker of this blue and white, cotton and wool, overshot coverlet is unknown. The coverlet was probably made between 1790 and 1825 and could possibly be from New York. The weaver of this early coverlet would also likely have been a woman or group of women who would pool equipment and skill sets to produce domestic goods for themselves and their neighbors. Since this coverlet dates from the early 19th century, it is quite likely that some or even all of the yarns used were homespun. Professional weavers switched to machine-spun cotton as soon as it was available, but hand-spun wool continued in use in coverlets in the early 19th century.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
1800-1900
1790-1825
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T6887
catalog number
T06887.000
accession number
011503

Engraved woodblock of an "Australian grave and carved trees"

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

Tiffany vase

Favrile glass, made of a dark opaque glass. Decorated with designs formed of yellow and silver lines, something like the leaves of the wild turnip on a ground of dark metallic iridescent luster. Form: A globular body, the shoulder deeply indented in four places.
Description (Brief)
Favrile glass, made of a dark opaque glass. Decorated with designs formed of yellow and silver lines, something like the leaves of the wild turnip on a ground of dark metallic iridescent luster. Form: A globular body, the shoulder deeply indented in four places. The top depressed, a short cylindrical neck. Purchased Charles Tiffany, $20.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893 - 96
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96443
catalog number
96443
accession number
30453
maker number
4914

The Schism

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1876
publisher
Wanderlich, Hermann
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
original artist
Vibert, Jehan Georges
ID Number
GA.14513
catalog number
14513
accession number
94830

plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130W
catalog number
75.130W
accession number
317832

cup, demi-tasse

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130BG
catalog number
75.130BG
accession number
317832

cup

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130BT
catalog number
75.130BT
accession number
317832

cup

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130BS
catalog number
75.130BS
accession number
317832

Tiffany vase

Translucent glass vase with motif of irregular swags. Favrile Glass. The body is of common amber bottle glass. Form: The body is of the double gourd shape, it has a large opening and no neck. Decorated with stripped leaf designs in blue, gray and red with an iridescent surface.
Description (Brief)
Translucent glass vase with motif of irregular swags. Favrile Glass. The body is of common amber bottle glass. Form: The body is of the double gourd shape, it has a large opening and no neck. Decorated with stripped leaf designs in blue, gray and red with an iridescent surface. Purchased from Charles Tiffany, $25.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893 - 96
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96422
catalog number
96422
accession number
30453
maker number
x 1212 (etched ?)

plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130Q
catalog number
75.130Q
accession number
317832

platter

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130AN
catalog number
75.130AN
accession number
317832

photograph

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2012.0093.10
accession number
2012.0093
catalog number
2012.0093.10

Engraved woodblock of a "Haida totem post"

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

cover

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130AX
catalog number
75.130AX
accession number
317832

The Girl on the Land Serves the Nation's Need

The Girl on the Land Serves the Nation's Need. American World War I poster by artist Edward Penfield for the Y.W.C.A. Land Service Committee.
Description
The Girl on the Land Serves the Nation's Need. American World War I poster by artist Edward Penfield for the Y.W.C.A. Land Service Committee. Depicted are four women in uniform walking through a field, carrying tools and a basket of produce while leading a team of horses.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1917 - 1921
ID Number
1986.3051.01
catalog number
1986.3051.01
nonaccession number
1986.3051

Tiffany vase

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1893 - 96
maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company, or Tiffany Studios
ID Number
CE.96425ab
catalog number
96425ab
accession number
30453
maker number
x 1255 (etched)
catalog number
96425

dish

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
about 1879
ID Number
CE.75.125I
catalog number
75.125I
accession number
317832

platter

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130AL
catalog number
75.130AL
accession number
317832

bowl

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CE.75.130AG
catalog number
75.130AG
accession number
317832

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