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: Pennsylvania

Paris Rat Catcher

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
last quarter 1800
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
original artist
Gavarni, Paul
ID Number
GA.14466.03
accession number
94830
catalog number
14466.03

Tomb of Washington/ Mount Vernon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1832
referenced
Washington, George
original artist
Smith, J. R.
designer
Lehman, George
ID Number
2014.0250.46
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.46

Osborne Brothers

After performing individually with Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe, and other headliners in the 1940s, Sonny (b.1937) and Bobby (b. 1931) Osborne became one of the most popular and innovative bluegrass groups of the postwar era.
Description
After performing individually with Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe, and other headliners in the 1940s, Sonny (b.1937) and Bobby (b. 1931) Osborne became one of the most popular and innovative bluegrass groups of the postwar era. Experimenting in the mid-1960s, they added piano, steel guitar, and electric instruments. While these ventures angered traditionalists, their innovative sound attracted a new younger audience to country music.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1974
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.040
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.040

Gas Light Shade

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
ID Number
CE.890
catalog number
890
accession number
58571
catalog number
59.113

Jar of Amber Glass Rods

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914
maker
Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
ID Number
CE.254ab
catalog number
254ab
accession number
57114

Chess players

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
fourth quarter 1800
graphic artist
Ferris, Stephen James
original artist
Meissonier, Jean Louis Ernest
ID Number
GA.14479
accession number
94830
catalog number
14479

vase

Date made
1876 - 1878
date made
1876
maker
Gillinder & Sons
ID Number
1990.0255.03B
catalog number
1990.0255.03B
accession number
1990.0255
1990.0255

figure

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1850 - 1899
maker
Schimmel, Wilhelm
ID Number
CL.65.1090
accession number
256396
catalog number
65.1090

Unfinished Lamp Font

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
est. 1899
1914-1915
ID Number
CE.227
catalog number
227
accession number
57114

pitcher, cream

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1900
maker
United States Glass Company
ID Number
CE.383817
catalog number
383817
accession number
170852

Electric Light Shade

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
ID Number
CE.893
catalog number
893
accession number
58571

Caroline Winn Memorial Mourning Picture; Susan Winn; ca. 1816

A mourning picture embroidered by Susan Winn, about 1816, in Lititz, PA, and dedicated to her sister, Caroline, who died in 1806 as an infant. The circular embroidered picture is surrounded by a band of couched chenille decorated with gold spangles.
Description
A mourning picture embroidered by Susan Winn, about 1816, in Lititz, PA, and dedicated to her sister, Caroline, who died in 1806 as an infant. The circular embroidered picture is surrounded by a band of couched chenille decorated with gold spangles. It shows a woman, two girls, and a boy gathered around a cloth-draped urn on which is printed "rests in Peace." The woman and girls wear necklaces with pendants or plaques; the one worn by the girl on the right is lettered "SW." The boy holds a book on which is printed "Ble--ed are the Dead that die in the L---." Printed in blue ink on the front of the plinth is "Sacred to the Memory / of my dear Sister / CAROLINE WINN. / Sweet be Thy sepulchral rest / Sister dear! supremely blest! / May the ties which us unite / Be renew'd in realms of light! / Erected by Susan Winn." In a gilded wood frame, it measures 25" x 25", and its black mat is reverse-painted on the glass. The ground is twill-weave ivory silk, and the stitches are satin, long and short, stem, and couching.
Susan was born October 18, 1801, to John and Susanna Winn in Baltimore, Maryland. Her father was a flour merchant and entered Susan and Elizabeth in the Moravian boarding school, Linden Hall Seminary, in Lititz, Pennsylvania in 1815. Susan married John Reynolds on December 23, 1824.
Mourning designs appear in many 19th-century decorative arts, including needlework. Embroidered landscapes, usually worked by schoolgirls, often show relatives or friends grieving before a monument dedicated to a lost loved one. For more about this embroidery and other schoolgirl needlework, see Girlhood Embroidery, American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework by Betty Ring (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993) and The "Ornamental Branches," Needlework and Arts from the Lititz Moravian Girls' School Between 1800 and 1865 by Patricia T. Herr (Lancaster, PA: The Heritage Center Museum of Lancaster County, 1996).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1816
associated dates
1938
maker
Winn, Susan
ID Number
TE.T08266
catalog number
T08266
accession number
148588

Engraved wood block "Indians Pounding Acorns"

This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 5, page 205. The image was drawn by A. T. Agate, and drawn on wood by G. Armstrong.
Description (Brief)
This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 5, page 205. The image was drawn by A. T. Agate, and drawn on wood by G. Armstrong. It was engraved by J. J. Butler, and originally printed by C. Sherman of Philadelphia in 1844.
Description
Joline J. Butler (about 1815–1846, working in New York City 1841-45) engraved this printing block after a drawing, Indians Pounding Acorns at New Helvetia (near present-day Sacramento, California), by Expedition Artist Alfred T. Agate. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 205 of Volume V of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1844
ca 1844
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
graphic artist
Butler, Joline J.
original artist
Agate, A. T.
Armstrong, G.
printer
Sherman, Conger
author
Wilkes, Charles
ID Number
1999.0145.207
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.207

Engraved printing plate "Ichthyology, Pl."

This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image showing four fish species in the never published Volume 21-22, Ichthyology, part of the series of publications the "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842." The plate images wer
Description (Brief)
This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image showing four fish species in the never published Volume 21-22, Ichthyology, part of the series of publications the "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842." The plate images were engraved by W. H. Dougal after Joseph Drayton.
Description
William H. Dougal (1822–1895) of New York and Washington, D.C., (after 1844) engraved this copper printing plate depicting four species of fish documented by the U.S. Exploring Expedition. The illustrations were to be published in Volumes XXII and XXIII, Ichthyology, by Louis Agassiz. Dougal engraved 26 of the 28 plates for this volume which was never printed.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
1862
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
original artist
Drayton, Joseph
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
author
Agassiz, Louis
ID Number
1999.0145.435
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.435

chimney, lamp

This lamp chimney was purposely left unfinshed as part of a series of lamp chimneys that illustrate the various stages of manufacture of lamp chimneys at Macbeth-Evans Glass Company.
Description
This lamp chimney was purposely left unfinshed as part of a series of lamp chimneys that illustrate the various stages of manufacture of lamp chimneys at Macbeth-Evans Glass Company. This particular one is listed as "Number 2 Pearl Top" and demonstrates how a lamp chimney looks in the factory before it is sent for crimping.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
circa 1899-1915
1914-1915
about 1914
ID Number
CE.214
catalog number
214
accession number
57114

Jar of Blue Glass Rods

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914
maker
Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
ID Number
CE.252ab
catalog number
252ab
accession number
57114

Engraved wood block "Natives of Wytoohee"

This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 1 (page 334 of the Lea & Blanchard stereotyped copy).
Description (Brief)
This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 1 (page 334 of the Lea & Blanchard stereotyped copy). The image was drawn by Joseph Drayton, and drawn on wood by John H. Manning. It was engraved by O'Brien, and originally printed by C. Sherman of Philadelphia in 1844.
Description
Robert O'Brien engraved this printing block after a drawing, Natives of Wytoohee, by Expedition Artist Joseph Drayton. Wytoohee is part of the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 334 of Volume I of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1844
ca 1844
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
graphic artist
O'Brien
original artist
Drayton, Joseph
graphic artist
Manning, John H.
printer
Sherman, Conger
author
Wilkes, Charles
ID Number
1999.0145.081
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.081

cruet

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1880-1890
maker
United States Glass Company
ID Number
CE.382648ab
catalog number
382648ab
accession number
163850

"Washington at the Battle of Trenton" Engine Panel Painting

In the nineteenth century, volunteer fire companies often commissioned paintings to decorate their hand-pumped fire engines for parades, competitions, and community events.
Description
In the nineteenth century, volunteer fire companies often commissioned paintings to decorate their hand-pumped fire engines for parades, competitions, and community events. Sometimes framed with elaborate carvings, they adorned the tall air chamber located at the middle or rear of a pumper. The paintings would often feature patriotic, heroic, or allegorical images to associate the volunteer companies with these lofty ideals.
This engine panel painting is attributed to the Washington Fire Company No.14 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was founded in 1796. Originally organized as a hand engine company, it acquired a steam fire engine in 1858 and operated as a steam fire engine company until 1871 when Philadelphia’s paid firefighting department was established. John A. Woodside completed this oil painting in 1853, copying it from “George Washington Before the Battle of Trenton,” painted by John Trumbull in 1792. The painting depicts Washington surveying the battleground, with Continental troops in the background. The volunteer fire company named itself after Washington and commissioned the painting to link itself with Washington’s prestige America’s foremost Founding Father.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1853
referenced
Trumbull, John
Washington, George
maker
Woodside, John Archibald
ID Number
2005.0233.0309
accession number
2005.0233
catalog number
2005.0233.0309

Study of Man in a Suit

Stephen Ferris made his sketch in a class at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1879. (His son Gerome had been enrolled at the Academy since 1878).
Description (Brief)
Stephen Ferris made his sketch in a class at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1879. (His son Gerome had been enrolled at the Academy since 1878). On the verso there is an outline sketch of bare- breasted woman with large necklace and long hair, holding a bowl on her left hip with cup raised in right hand.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879-02-14
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.16688
catalog number
16688
accession number
119780

Fanciful Electric Light Shade

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
est. 1899
1914-1915
maker
Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
ID Number
CE.914
catalog number
914
accession number
58571

Engraved printing plate "Ichthyology, Pl."

This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image showing three species of shark in the never published Volume 21-22, Ichthyology, part of the series of publications the "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842." The plate image
Description (Brief)
This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image showing three species of shark in the never published Volume 21-22, Ichthyology, part of the series of publications the "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842." The plate images were engraved by W. H. Dougal after Joseph Drayton.
Description
William H. Dougal (1822–1895) of New York and Washington, D.C., (after 1844) engraved this copper printing plate depicting three species of shark documented by the U.S. Exploring Expedition. The engraved illustrations were to be published in volumes XXII and XXIII, Ichthyology, by Louis Agassiz. Dougal engraved 26 of the 28 plates for this volume which was never printed.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
original artist
Drayton, Joseph
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
author
Agassiz, Louis
ID Number
1999.0145.437
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.437

Engraved wood block "Drummond's Islander"

This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 5, page 48. The image was drawn by A. T. Agate. It was engraved by R. S.
Description (Brief)
This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 5, page 48. The image was drawn by A. T. Agate. It was engraved by R. S. Gilbert, and originally printed by C. Sherman of Philadelphia in 1844.
Description
Reuben S. Gilbert (about 1815–about 1850) engraved this printing block after a drawing, Drummond's Islander, from the Kingsmill Island group by Expedition Artist Alfred T. Agate. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 45 of Volume V of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1844
ca 1844
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
graphic artist
Gilbert, Reuben S.
original artist
Agate, A. T.
printer
Sherman, Conger
author
Wilkes, Charles
ID Number
1999.0145.193
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.193

Ruined Brewery on Girard Avenue

Were it not identified as a brewery on Girard Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the building in this unsigned 1879 watercolor and pencil study could easily be mistaken for one of Stephen Ferris’s Moorish subjects from his trip to southern Spain in 1881.
Description (Brief)
Were it not identified as a brewery on Girard Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the building in this unsigned 1879 watercolor and pencil study could easily be mistaken for one of Stephen Ferris’s Moorish subjects from his trip to southern Spain in 1881. There are two more watercolor studies of the brewery; see: GA*14546 and GA*14547.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879
original artist
Ferris, Stephen James
ID Number
GA.14540
catalog number
14540
accession number
94830

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