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: 1950s

Fiesta

Homer Laughlin China Company, who manufactured the infamous “Fiesta ware” line, began as a partnership between the two Laughlin brothers, Homer and Shakespeare, in 1873.
Description
Homer Laughlin China Company, who manufactured the infamous “Fiesta ware” line, began as a partnership between the two Laughlin brothers, Homer and Shakespeare, in 1873. The company sold primarily Rockingham and yellow ware then later expanded their market to make semi-vitreous dinner, hotel, and toilet wares as well as white granite products. After the Great Depression the market for inexpensive dinner wares increased, and the “Fiesta ware” line was available for purchase in 1936. Designed by Frederick Hurten Rhead, an English potter from Staffordshire, “Fiesta ware” became highly popular for their bright colors, streamlined design, and mix-and-match capabilities for the everyday household.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca. 1936-51
user
Boughton, George Henry
maker
Homer Laughlin China Co.
ID Number
1999.0136.02
accession number
1999.0136
catalog number
1999.0136.02

Book, The World of Mathematics: A Small Library of the Literature of Mathematics. . .

This four-volume anthology, compiled by James R. Newman, was published by Simon & Schuster of New York. This 1956 example is from the library of the artist David Crockett Johnson. Figures from this book inspired numerous mathematical paintings of Crockett Johnson.
Description
This four-volume anthology, compiled by James R. Newman, was published by Simon & Schuster of New York. This 1956 example is from the library of the artist David Crockett Johnson. Figures from this book inspired numerous mathematical paintings of Crockett Johnson. Related drawings are shown with the paintings.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1956
maker
Newman, James R.
ID Number
1979.3083.06.57
catalog number
1979.3083.06.57
nonaccession number
1979.3083

Book, The Real Projective Plane

This is a copy of the second edition of H.S.M. Coxeter's book "The Real Projective Plane," published by Cambridge University Press in 1955. This book came from the library of the artist David Crockett Johnson.
Description
This is a copy of the second edition of H.S.M. Coxeter's book "The Real Projective Plane," published by Cambridge University Press in 1955. This book came from the library of the artist David Crockett Johnson. Diagrams from four pages in this book may have served as the basis of paintings of Crockett Johnson.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1955
maker
Coxeter, H. S. M.
ID Number
1979.3083.06.18
catalog number
1979.3083.06.18
nonaccession number
1979.3083

Cedar Waxwing

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
William Adams & Sons (& Co)
original artist of central image
Audubon, John James
ID Number
2009.0036.06
accession number
2009.0036
catalog number
2009.0036.06

Florida Jay

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
William Adams & Sons (& Co)
original artist of central image
Audubon, John James
ID Number
2009.0036.04
accession number
2009.0036
catalog number
2009.0036.04

Bird of Washington

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
William Adams & Sons (& Co)
original artist of central image
Audubon, John James
ID Number
2009.0036.05
accession number
2009.0036
catalog number
2009.0036.05

Choi Do-Yong and Nam Ki-Kyung

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
Circa 1950-1953
associated date
1951 - 1953
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
maker
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58382M
catalog number
58382M
accession number
211728

Einar H. Ingman

A three-quarters portrait of Einar H. Ingman depicted as Sergeant, Company E, 17th Infantry, 7th Division. An oil painting on an illustration board. A white man, Sergeant Ingman has brown/red hair and blue eyes.
Description
A three-quarters portrait of Einar H. Ingman depicted as Sergeant, Company E, 17th Infantry, 7th Division. An oil painting on an illustration board. A white man, Sergeant Ingman has brown/red hair and blue eyes. He is wearing an olive drab coat with a khaki shirt and olive drab tie underneath. On the coat's right shoulder, three upward chevrons and one rocker is seen indicating a rank of Staff Sergeant. An shoulder patch for the 7th Division is seen. Above the patch is a small rectangular patch with a red background and white text that states KOREA. A shield patch can be seen on the shoulder strap, but it is not detailed making it difficult to identify. A Presidential Unit Award military ribbon can be seen on the right chest. Several military ribbons are seen on his left chest in addition to some other other military decorations, but his left side is leaning back and a shadow is cast upon the left side making idenification difficult. A blue shoulder cord is seen on the left shoulder indicating his role in Infantry. Two lapel insignias are not very detailed, but rifles can probably be distinguished indicating again his role in Infantry. His left side is covered in shadow and obscured possibly because a portion of his left ear was destroyed in battle as well as his left eye which might have been replaced with an prosthetic. Sergeant Ingman's signature can be seen on the lower right portion of the portrait.
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1951 - 1953
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
maker
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58117M
catalog number
58117M
accession number
203612

Baltimore Oriole

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
William Adams & Sons (& Co)
original artist of central image
Audubon, John James
ID Number
2009.0036.01
accession number
2009.0036
catalog number
2009.0036.01

Wild Turkey

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
William Adams & Sons (& Co)
original artist of central image
Audubon, John James
ID Number
2009.0036.07
accession number
2009.0036
catalog number
2009.0036.07

Ruffed Grouse

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
William Adams & Sons (& Co)
original artist of central image
Audubon, John James
ID Number
2009.0036.03
accession number
2009.0036
catalog number
2009.0036.03

American Flamingo

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
William Adams & Sons (& Co)
original artist of central image
Audubon, John James
ID Number
2009.0036.02
accession number
2009.0036
catalog number
2009.0036.02

Hair Wreath

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date hairwork made
1888 or 1889
date box relined and frame repainted
post 1959
ID Number
1991.0702.01
catalog number
1991.0702.01
accession number
1991.0702

Adiós Espalda Mojada

For centuries in both Mexico and the United States, racism has organized society and regulated the work and aspirations of Europeans, Africans, Native peoples, and their mixed descendants.
Description
For centuries in both Mexico and the United States, racism has organized society and regulated the work and aspirations of Europeans, Africans, Native peoples, and their mixed descendants. Though inhabiting segregated spaces, Mexican American communities expanded by the 1960s, stretching from the Yakima Valley of Washington to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, and into the Midwest, particularly Chicago. The people living in these towns and cities represented a mix of multigenerational U.S. citizens, new residents, and temporary Mexican workers. While their experiences varied, all these communities were shaped by a legacy of discrimination in school, housing, and employment. Economic exploitation, in the form of race-based wages and substandard working conditions, particularly in fields, mines, and factories, were their daily realities. Despite the participation of Mexican American soldiers in all major U.S. conflicts since the Civil War, and the contribution of Mexican workers to the American agricultural and mining economy (and the vast economy of the West generally), the citizenship and human rights of their communities were contested and continue to be today. This lithograph, titled Goodbye Wetback, was designed by artist B. Barrios and printed by Lynton Kistler in 1951 in Los Angeles. It depicts a rural Mexican family confronting, with a mix of fear and stoicism, the racist encounter implied in the title. Kistler printed the work of many artists, some of whom specifically depicted Latino, Native American, and East Asian subjects. Over 2,700 of his prints are housed in the Graphic Arts Collection of the National Museum of American History.
Description (Spanish)
Durante siglos la ideología del racismo ha afectado la organización de la sociedad, regulando tanto el trabajo como las aspiraciones de europeos, africanos, pueblos nativos y sus descendencias mestizas. Pese a habitar en espacios segregados, en la década de 1960 las comunidades mexicoamericanas se expandieron, extendiéndose desde el Valle de Yakima en Washington hasta el Valle del Río Grande en Texas, adentrándose en el medio oeste, particularmente en Chicago. La gente que vivía en estos pueblos y ciudades constituía una mezcla de múltiples generaciones de ciudadanos estadounidenses, nuevos residentes y trabajadores mexicanos temporarios. Aunque sus experiencias eran variadas, todas estas comunidades sufrieron los efectos de un mismo legado de discriminación escolar, habitacional y laboral. La explotación económica, traducida en salarios basados en la raza y condiciones de vida por debajo de lo normal, particularmente en los campos, las minas y las fábricas, era para ellos una realidad diaria. Pese a que los soldados mexicoamericanos participaron en todos los conflictos importantes de Estados Unidos desde la Guerra Civil, y los trabajadores mexicanos aportaron una contribución fundamental a la economía agrícola y minera americana (y en general a la vasta economía del oeste), la ciudadanía y los derechos humanos de sus comunidades han sido combatidas y aún lo son. Esta litografía titulada Adiós Espalda Mojada, fue diseñada por el artista B. Barrios y grabada por Lynton Kistler en 1951 en Los Ángeles. Representa a una familia rural mexicana, transmitiendo una mezcla de miedo y estoicismo, con el conflicto racial implicado en el título. Kistler grabó las obras de una gran variedad de artistas, algunos de los cuales representaron específicamente a latinos, americanos nativos y temas del Asia Oriental. Más de 2.700 de sus grabados están alojados en la Colección de Artes Gráficas del Museo Nacional de Historia Americana.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1951
Associated Date
1951
printer
Kistler, Lynton R.
graphic artist
Barrios, B.
ID Number
1978.0650.0968
accession number
1978.0650
catalog number
1978.0650.0968
78.0650.0968

The Sad Flute Player

From 1948 to 1957, Wayne worked with printer Lynton Kistler at his lithography workshop in California. This is one of Wayne's early prints in the medium from the decade before she established the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in 1960.Currently not on view
Description
From 1948 to 1957, Wayne worked with printer Lynton Kistler at his lithography workshop in California. This is one of Wayne's early prints in the medium from the decade before she established the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in 1960.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950
graphic artist
Wayne, June
printer
Kistler, Lynton R.
ID Number
1978.0650.1931
accession number
1978.0650
catalog number
1978.0650.1931
78.0650.1931

Mexican Boy

This lithograph of a boy at work was designed in the late 1930s by the Mexican American artist Ramón Contreras (1919-1940). Mexican-born, he grew up in San Bernardino, a major agricultural town east of Los Angeles. His career was tragically short.
Description
This lithograph of a boy at work was designed in the late 1930s by the Mexican American artist Ramón Contreras (1919-1940). Mexican-born, he grew up in San Bernardino, a major agricultural town east of Los Angeles. His career was tragically short. Before he died of cancer at the age of 21, Contreras became the youngest artist ever invited to the Golden Gate International Exposition, and traveled to Mexico to meet the famed muralist Diego Rivera. Contreras came of age during the Great Depression (1930s), a period of economic crisis for all Americans and for people around the globe. Much of the art produced during these difficult years reflects a political and aesthetic vision–to document and ennoble the lives of ordinary working people. Here, Contreras presents us with an idealized image of a confident young man in motion. Identifiably Mexican with his serape draped over one shoulder, the boy drawn by Contreras triumphantly at the center of the frame is perhaps a fruit vendor. He is probably not a fruit picker–note the non-Californian bananas arrayed with other warm-weather fruits in his basket. This lithograph was printed in about 1950 by Lynton Kistler–it is one of the 2,700 prints by this prominent Los Angeles printer that are housed in the Graphic Arts Collection of the National Museum of American History.
Description (Spanish)
Esta litografía de un niño trabajando fue diseñada a fines de la década de 1930 por el artista mexicoamericano Ramón Contreras (1919-1940), quien nació en México, pero creció en San Bernardino, una de las ciudades más agrícolas al este de Los Ángeles. Su carrera fue extremadamente corta, ya que falleció trágicamente de cáncer a la edad de 21 años, luego de haber sido el artista más joven jamás invitado a la Exposición Internacional del Golden Gate, y de haber viajado a México para reunirse con el muralista Diego Rivera. Contreras creció durante la Gran Depresión (años '30), un período de crisis económica para todos los americanos e indudablemente para el mundo entero. Muchas de las obras de arte generadas durante estos años difíciles reflejan una visión política y estética–documentar y ennoblecer las vidas de la gente común trabajadora. Aquí Contreras nos presenta la imagen idealizada de un joven muy seguro de si mismo en acción. Este joven triunfante dibujado por Contreras en el centro del cuadro puede identificarse como mexicano por el sarape que lleva colgado del hombro, y posiblemente se trate de un vendedor de frutas. Es probable que no sea un recolector de frutas—pueden notarse en el canasto las bananas no californianas dispuestas junto a otras frutas de clima cálido. Esta litografía fue grabada aproximadamente en 1950 por Lynton Kistler—es uno de los 2.700 grabados de este prominente impresor de Los Ángeles perteneciente a la Colección de Artes Gráficas del Museo Nacional de Historia Americana.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1950
graphic artist
Kistler, Lynton R.
original artist
Contreras, Ramon
ID Number
1978.0650.1130
accession number
1978.0650
catalog number
1978.0650.1130
78.0650.1130

Book, Famous Problems of Elementary Geometry

This image is from "Famous Problems of Elementary Geometry," a book written by Felix Klein and translated by W.W. Beman and D.E. Smith. It is the Dover edition of 1956. The book came from the library of the artist Crockett Johnson. A figure on p.
Description
This image is from "Famous Problems of Elementary Geometry," a book written by Felix Klein and translated by W.W. Beman and D.E. Smith. It is the Dover edition of 1956. The book came from the library of the artist Crockett Johnson. A figure on p. 41 served as the basis of his painting Seventeen Sides (Gauss). The painting has catalog number 1979.1093.45 and image 2008-2538.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1956
maker
Klein, Felix
ID Number
1979.3083.06.42
catalog number
1979.3083.06.42
nonaccession number
1979.3083

Painting of Rotterdam Harbor

The painting by Marinus Drulman shows an unidentified steamship entering a crowded Rotterdam Harbor.
Description
The painting by Marinus Drulman shows an unidentified steamship entering a crowded Rotterdam Harbor. The port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, dates back to the 14th century and is the largest port in Europe.
In the painting, there are several smaller vessels surrounding the steamship. In the background appears a lot of harbor activity. The sky is gray and filled with smoke from the ships, and the sea is still and dark.
Artist Marinus Johannus Drulman (1912-1978) worked under the pseudonym M. de Jongere. He was born in Amsterdam and was known mainly for painting harbors and landscapes.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1954
maker
de Jongere, M.
ID Number
2005.0279.051
accession number
2005.0279
catalog number
2005.0279.051

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.