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.

Topic: Communications

Angelo And Isabella

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1877
original artist
Spiess, August
graphic artist
Schmidt, W.
publisher
Gebbie and Barrie
ID Number
GA.15726
catalog number
15726
accession number
94830

Homme se roulant a terre

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1874
original artist
Fortuny y Carbo, Mariano
ID Number
GA.16774
catalog number
16774
accession number
119780

Portrait of Francis Fauquier

Gerome Ferris initialed this pencil sketch showing Francis Fauquier, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia at the time of Washington’s marriage in 1759. Most of the sketches and notes associated with Ferris’s painting, Here Comes the Bride, 1759, were not signed.
Description (Brief)
Gerome Ferris initialed this pencil sketch showing Francis Fauquier, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia at the time of Washington’s marriage in 1759. Most of the sketches and notes associated with Ferris’s painting, Here Comes the Bride, 1759, were not signed. Fauquier appears in the foreground of the finished work.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
20th century
original artist
Ferris, Jean Leon Gerome
ID Number
GA.16562.12
catalog number
16562.12
accession number
119780

Pepper & Toast

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.19
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.19

Drawing made by a Comanche Indian

Unknown artist, about 1869“Drawing made by a Comanche Indian”[Title given by collector Dr. Edward Palmer]Media: Colored inks on paperThis drawing of a Comanche warrior was likely prepared and collected in 1869 at the Kiowa and Comanche Agency in present-day Oklahoma.
Description
Unknown artist, about 1869
“Drawing made by a Comanche Indian”
[Title given by collector Dr. Edward Palmer]
Media: Colored inks on paper
This drawing of a Comanche warrior was likely prepared and collected in 1869 at the Kiowa and Comanche Agency in present-day Oklahoma. The artist’s representation of a warrior on horseback follows a tradition of pictographic imagery which presents the subject on one plane without the illusion of depth. Here both of the warrior’s legs and leg sashes are imaged on the viewer’s side of the horse.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
ca 1868
ca 1882
ca 1868
original artist
unknown
ID Number
2008.0175.50
catalog number
2008.0175.050
accession number
2008.0175

Nandina domestica

Japanese wood block print. No. 11 in a series of progressive proofs of a stylized group of leaves and berries from the shrub Nandina domestica. Designed by Tsubaki Chinzan, engraved by Kotaro Kido, and printed by Iwakichi Yamamoto.Currently not on view
Description
Japanese wood block print. No. 11 in a series of progressive proofs of a stylized group of leaves and berries from the shrub Nandina domestica. Designed by Tsubaki Chinzan, engraved by Kotaro Kido, and printed by Iwakichi Yamamoto.
Location
Currently not on view
engraver
Kido, Kotaro
ID Number
GA.03217.11
catalog number
03217.11
accession number
22582

Council (or more properly, Sun Dance or Medicine Lodge)

Bear's Heart, or Nock-ko-ist (Cheyenne),drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida"Council" (or more properly, Sun Dance or Medicine Lodge)Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878Colored pencil, ink, colored ink, and watercolorThe drawing of a Sun Dance or Medicine Lo
Description
Bear's Heart, or Nock-ko-ist (Cheyenne),
drawn between 1875 and 1878 at Fort Marion, Florida
"Council" (or more properly, Sun Dance or Medicine Lodge)
Collected by Richard Henry Pratt about 1878
Colored pencil, ink, colored ink, and watercolor
The drawing of a Sun Dance or Medicine Lodge gathering offers a partial view of one moment in the most sacred of Plains Indian ceremonies. The event is represented here by the Sun Dance lodge with its cloth and tree-branch offerings flying. The people stand outside to bear witness to the sacred offerings being made, while four painted Sun Dancers stand ready to make their sacrifices inside. Four men, probably warrior society officers, stand guard over the ceremony.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875-1878
original artist
Bear's Heart
ID Number
2008.0175.56
accession number
2008.0175
catalog number
2008.0175.056

chisel

Wooden handle with metal blade held in place by metal ferrule at base. Chisel for removing wood between the lines of the design in a woodblock. One of a group of woodblock-cutter's tools used in Graphic Arts exhibit of Japanese printmaking techniques from about 1890 to 1990s.
Description
Wooden handle with metal blade held in place by metal ferrule at base. Chisel for removing wood between the lines of the design in a woodblock. One of a group of woodblock-cutter's tools used in Graphic Arts exhibit of Japanese printmaking techniques from about 1890 to 1990s. Identified as No. 14 in watercolor drawing GA 03209.02 showing the tools of the block cutter.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03210.14
accession number
22582
catalog number
03210.14

Abraham's Sacrifice

Mezzotint after painting by Rembrandt once in the Gallery at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England. Now in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Print removed from George P. Marsh’s copy of The Houghton Gallery, vol. 2.
Description
Mezzotint after painting by Rembrandt once in the Gallery at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England. Now in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Print removed from George P. Marsh’s copy of The Houghton Gallery, vol. 2. Marsh probably wrote the numeral 33 in pencil in the lower right margin. Notation on mounting sheet indicates the print was taken out for framing in 1894. SI Secretary's Library stamp embossed in lower left margin.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1781
original artist
Rembrandt van Rijn
publisher
Boydell, John
engraver
Murphy, John
ID Number
1978.0534.03.35
accession number
1978.0534
catalog number
1978.0534.03.35

Nandina domestica

Japanese wood block print. No. 15 in a series of progressive proofs of a stylized group of leaves and berries from the shrub Nandina domestica. Designed by Tsubaki Chinzan, engraved by Kotaro Kido, and printed by Iwakichi Yamamoto.Currently not on view
Description
Japanese wood block print. No. 15 in a series of progressive proofs of a stylized group of leaves and berries from the shrub Nandina domestica. Designed by Tsubaki Chinzan, engraved by Kotaro Kido, and printed by Iwakichi Yamamoto.
Location
Currently not on view
engraver
Kido, Kotaro
ID Number
GA.03217.15
catalog number
03217.15
accession number
22582

Watercress Soup

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-1970
author
Waters, Alice
ID Number
2016.0085.28
accession number
2016.0085
catalog number
2016.0085.28

A Rustic Genji (Inaka Genji)

Wood block, Japanese, used to produce landscape print GA 03215. Single kimono-clad female figure in foreground; several men and a horse working in fields in background. Center print in a triptych with GA 03213 and GA 03216.
Description
Wood block, Japanese, used to produce landscape print GA 03215. Single kimono-clad female figure in foreground; several men and a horse working in fields in background. Center print in a triptych with GA 03213 and GA 03216. 26 separate impressions were required to complete the image from 10 printing surfaces on six blocks, of which this block printed impressions GA 03215.07 and .15 (grays) from the recto and .14 (carmine) from the verso.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03214.06
catalog number
3214.06
accession number
22582

Officer and Laughing Girl after Vermeer

Le Soldat et la Fillette Qui Rit is the only painting by Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) that Jules Jacquemart etched. His first attempt to etch a painting in 1861 was a failure, as apparently he had been unable to work directly from the subject.
Description
Le Soldat et la Fillette Qui Rit is the only painting by Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) that Jules Jacquemart etched. His first attempt to etch a painting in 1861 was a failure, as apparently he had been unable to work directly from the subject. Not until five years later in 1866 did he make a second attempt at etching a painting, this print after Vermeer. It was considered to be one of the best reproductive etchings of the time. The Vermeer painting now hangs in the Frick Collection, New York. But when Jacquemart etched it for the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, it was in the collection of Léopold Double, a French artillery officer, bibliophile, and art collector.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1866
original artist
Vermeer, Jan
graphic artist
Jacquemart, Jules
printer
Delâtre
publisher
Gazette des Beaux-Arts
ID Number
GA.14601
catalog number
14601
accession number
94830

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

The Etching of Figures

Single sheet, folded as one gathering, for "The Etching of Figures" by William Aspinwall Bradley. Designed and printed by Dard Hunter on laid paper made at his Marlborough-on-Hudson mill, 1915, with watermarks of his initials, DH inside a heart and CSE in a circle.
Description (Brief)
Single sheet, folded as one gathering, for "The Etching of Figures" by William Aspinwall Bradley. Designed and printed by Dard Hunter on laid paper made at his Marlborough-on-Hudson mill, 1915, with watermarks of his initials, DH inside a heart and CSE in a circle. Published by the Chicago Society of Etchers. This is the first signature of the book, including the title page, foreword (p. 2), and text pp. 7-8.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
Hunter, Dard
ID Number
GA.12472.02
accession number
66548
catalog number
12472.02

Turmeric: Wakon-ko

Small glass bottle of powdered pigment used for printing Japanese woodblocks. Paper label in English with color name transliterated from Japanese; separate label with catalogue number. Each bottle is stopped with small cork.Turmeric: Wakon-koCurrently not on view
Description
Small glass bottle of powdered pigment used for printing Japanese woodblocks. Paper label in English with color name transliterated from Japanese; separate label with catalogue number. Each bottle is stopped with small cork.
Turmeric: Wakon-ko
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03441
catalog number
03441
accession number
23218

Nandina domestica

Japanese wood block print. No. 5 in a series of progressive proofs of a stylized group of leaves and berries from the shrub Nandina domestica. Designed by Tsubaki Chinzan, engraved by Kotaro Kido, and printed by Iwakichi Yamamoto.Currently not on view
Description
Japanese wood block print. No. 5 in a series of progressive proofs of a stylized group of leaves and berries from the shrub Nandina domestica. Designed by Tsubaki Chinzan, engraved by Kotaro Kido, and printed by Iwakichi Yamamoto.
Location
Currently not on view
engraver
Kido, Kotaro
ID Number
GA.03217.05
catalog number
03217.05
accession number
22582

Seated Male Nude

Red chalk study of a nude male model. Studies like this one are sometimes called “academy figures” or simply “academies” because such subjects were required exercises in art schools or academies.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Red chalk study of a nude male model. Studies like this one are sometimes called “academy figures” or simply “academies” because such subjects were required exercises in art schools or academies.
Location
Currently not on view
original artist
unknown
ID Number
GA.14358
accession number
94830
catalog number
14358

chisel

Wooden handle with sharp metal point, chisel for removing small bits of wood between the lines of the design of a woodblock. One of a group of woodblock-cutter's tools used in Graphic Arts exhibit of Japanese printmaking techniques from about 1890 to 1990s. Identified as No.
Description
Wooden handle with sharp metal point, chisel for removing small bits of wood between the lines of the design of a woodblock. One of a group of woodblock-cutter's tools used in Graphic Arts exhibit of Japanese printmaking techniques from about 1890 to 1990s. Identified as No. 11 in watercolor drawing GA 03209.02 showing the tools of the block cutter.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03210.11
accession number
22582
catalog number
03210.11

Cheyenne Pictures. 'High Wolf' kills a Shoshone or Snake Indian.

Unknown artist, about 1894“Cheyenne Pictures.
Description
Unknown artist, about 1894
“Cheyenne Pictures. High Wolf Kills a Shoshonee or Snake Indian.”
Pencil, colored pencil, ink and watercolor
This drawing shows a mounted warrior with a name glyph - a symbol for the personal name “High Wolf” - riding victoriously over a fallen Snake (Shoshone) warrior, identified by his shield. The artist depicts High Wolf counting coup on his enemy by showing a riding whip (quirt) touching the shield of the fallen Shoshone warrior. Counting coup - in this instance touching an adversary in battle - was considered an act of bravery that could gain war honors.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1894
original artist
unknown
ID Number
GA.08113
catalog number
GA*08113
accession number
1897.031963

Campaign speeches are useful, at that

This pen-and-ink comic art drawing by Rube Goldberg from 1924 features the concept of using “windy” political speeches as free energy.Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was an engineer before he was a comic artist.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink comic art drawing by Rube Goldberg from 1924 features the concept of using “windy” political speeches as free energy.
Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was an engineer before he was a comic artist. After receiving an engineering degree, he started his career designing sewers for the City of San Francisco, but then followed his other interest and took a job as a sports cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle. After moving to New York in 1907 Goldberg worked for several newspapers, producing a number of short-lived strips and panels—many of which were inspired by his engineering background, including his renowned invention cartoons. In the late 1930s and 1940s he switched his focus to editorial and political cartoons and in 1945 founded the National Cartoonists Society. The Reuben, comic art’s most prestigious award, is named after him.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924-10-31
original artist
Goldberg, Rube
ID Number
GA.23492
catalog number
23492
accession number
299186

portrait studies of women and men

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. 1900
ID Number
2014.0250.01
accession number
2014.0250
catalog number
2014.0250.01

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

sheet(paper)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
U.S. Government Printing Office
ID Number
GA.20483.02
accession number
203077

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