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: 1900s

Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, mid 19th Century

The bottom of this very large sperm whale tooth is broken off. One side has a leopard stalking across the polished surface in a horizontal composition.
Description
The bottom of this very large sperm whale tooth is broken off. One side has a leopard stalking across the polished surface in a horizontal composition. The entire animal is decorated with deeply engraved spots, excepting a few parts, indicating that the scrimshander may not have finished his artwork.
The other side is very faintly engraved with a vertical picture of a shipboard game of chicken. A sailor in traditional outfit of striped pants, blouse, tie and hat with his arms folded across his chest is perched on the shoulders of a monk. The monk is complete with fringed haircut and a large cross around his neck. Another monk is running towards him with outstretched arms, with a sailor on his shoulders. One sailor is throwing some liquid at his opponents from a tall, narrow beaker. Behind the men is a sketchily rigged mast with no sails.
This odd freehand scene may be part of a Neptune ceremony, which was a diversion by crew or passengers of a ship when first crossing the Equator on a long voyage. Anyone who had not before crossed the line might have a visit from King Neptune and engage in hazing or gamesmanship of some sort to break up the monotony of a long sea voyage.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
DL.374496
catalog number
374496
accession number
136263

A Locomotive Shop at Nazaire

Pencil sketch on paper of an American locomotive assembly shop at Saint Nazaire, France during World War I. Men working on several engines.Currently not on view
Description
Pencil sketch on paper of an American locomotive assembly shop at Saint Nazaire, France during World War I. Men working on several engines.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918-07
associated date
1917-1918
associated person
War Department
artist
Smith, J. Andre
ID Number
AF.25919
catalog number
25919
accession number
64592

Van Briggle Pottery vase

Before becoming an international phenomenon, the Arts and Crafts movement began with the ideas of British artisan William Morris (1834-1896) and writer John Ruskin (1819-1900).
Description
Before becoming an international phenomenon, the Arts and Crafts movement began with the ideas of British artisan William Morris (1834-1896) and writer John Ruskin (1819-1900). Morris and Ruskin believed that the growth of cities isolated urban workers and that mass production negatively affected artisan crafts. They proposed to solve these issues by returning to a medieval-inspired village model where everybody participated in a community lifestyle. In the United States, artisans adapted these ideas into the studio art pottery movement. Unlike their British counterparts, who often focused predominantly on social issues and therefore made objects that incorporated Gothic and Renaissance motifs, American craftsmen developed a cohesive and novel aesthetic.
Artus Van Briggle joined the Rookwood Pottery in 1887. He was so well-regarded by his employers that the company sent him to Europe to study pottery in 1893. There, like his patroness Maria Longworth Nichols Storer, Van Briggle encountered and became inspired by Chinese and Japanese ceramics. When tuberculosis forced Van Briggle to relocate to Colorado Springs in 1899, he formed his own eponymous pottery. Working with native Colorado clay, Van Briggle developed a matte glaze in a variety of tones that reflected his interest in Eastern ceramic wares.
Like its Grueby contemporaries, Van Briggle wares often combine stylized plant motifs with a smooth matte glaze in muted tones. This mint green vase with relief long-stemmed leaves exemplifies the iconic color and styling used by the pottery. In this example, the decorator first carved a thrown earthenware vase with the leaf motif, and later submerged the entire vessel in a prepared vat of glaze to achieve the thick, even coating typical of the ware. Van Briggle glazes feature an array of varied tones that include a tobacco yellow, a deep terra cotta red, and a myriad of greens and blues.
Artus Van Briggle joined the Rookwood Pottery in 1887. He was so well-regarded by his employers that the company sent him to Europe to study pottery in 1893. There, like his patroness Maria Longworth Nichols Storer, Van Briggle encountered and became inspired by Chinese and Japanese ceramics. When tuberculosis forced Van Briggle to relocate to Colorado Springs in 1899, he formed his own eponymous pottery. Working with native Colorado clay, Van Briggle developed a matte glaze in a variety of tones that reflected his interest in Eastern ceramic wares.
Like its Grueby contemporaries, Van Briggle wares often combine stylized plant motifs with a smooth matte glaze in muted tones. This mint green vase with relief long-stemmed leaves exemplifies the iconic color and styling used by the pottery. In this example, the decorator first carved a thrown earthenware vase with the leaf motif, and later submerged the entire vessel in a prepared vat of glaze to achieve the thick, even coating typical of the ware. Van Briggle glazes feature an array of varied tones that include a tobacco yellow, a deep terra cotta red, and a myriad of greens and blues.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1905
ID Number
CE.237970
catalog number
237970
accession number
45703

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

Building the Hospital at Bazoilles

Mixed media sketch on paper. A complex of buildings and temporary structures make up the hospital at Bazoilles, which was one of the largest hospitals in France during World War I.
Description
Mixed media sketch on paper. A complex of buildings and temporary structures make up the hospital at Bazoilles, which was one of the largest hospitals in France during World War I. An inscription beneath the drawing reads, "Showing an extension of the hospital; workmen shown here are Chinese. The hospital will eventually provide 10,000 beds. The ward buildings are built on both sides of the river."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918-06
associated date
1917-1918
associated person
War Department
artist
Smith, J. Andre
ID Number
AF.25959
catalog number
25959
accession number
64592

Newcomb Pottery vase

Elongated cylindrical vessel with narrow waist and flaring base and mouth. Buff colored body with gauze-like light blue glaze. Top of vessel has decorative band of stylized and repeating green leaves and either a yellow flower bud or fruit.
Description (Brief)
Elongated cylindrical vessel with narrow waist and flaring base and mouth. Buff colored body with gauze-like light blue glaze. Top of vessel has decorative band of stylized and repeating green leaves and either a yellow flower bud or fruit. Possibly known as "Wild Tomato" pattern. The decorative band is in low relief or thick slip. Lightly incised decorative line decoration in black, blue and yellow. Possibly decorated by Mazie T. Ryan
Description
Before becoming an international phenomenon, the Arts and Crafts movement began with the ideas of British artisan William Morris (1834-1896) and writer John Ruskin (1819-1900). Morris and Ruskin believed that the growth of cities isolated urban workers and that mass production negatively affected artisan crafts. They proposed to solve these issues by returning to a medieval-inspired village model where everybody participated in a community lifestyle. In the United States, artisans adapted these ideas into the studio art pottery movement. Unlike their British counterparts, who often focused predominantly on social issues and therefore made objects that incorporated Gothic and Renaissance motifs, American craftsmen developed a cohesive and novel aesthetic.
The Newcomb Pottery was founded in 1895 at H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in New Orleans, Louisiana, the coordinate women’s college of Tulane University. As such, Newcomb Pottery’s main focus was in the practical education of young, primarily middle-class women. Among other courses, the school offered comprehensive classes in design, ceramics, and textiles. Female ceramics decorators were encouraged to design their own vessels, although still within a board-approved aesthetic. The pottery’s wares are best known for their foggy, variegated glazes in colors like green, blue, and periwinkle, and its relief carvings of local plants – water lilies, jonquils, and Spanish moss-covered trees.
This moss-green vase with stylized fruit bears the mark of Mazie T. Ryan, a female decorator working from about 1897-1910. It is important to note that although the Newcomb Pottery was instrumental in giving women like Ms. Ryan early working opportunities and a trade education, college organizers still felt that throwing vessels was not an appropriate occupation for women. Like nearly every other vessel made at Newcomb, this vase was thrown by Joseph Fortune Meyer, who was involved with the earliest developments of the Newcomb Pottery from 1893.
The Newcomb Pottery was founded in 1895 at H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in New Orleans, Louisiana, the coordinate women’s college of Tulane University. As such, Newcomb Pottery’s main focus was in the practical education of young, primarily middle-class women. Among other courses, the school offered comprehensive classes in design, ceramics, and textiles. Female ceramics decorators were encouraged to design their own vessels, although still within a board-approved aesthetic. The pottery’s wares are best known for their foggy, variegated glazes in colors like green, blue, and periwinkle, and its relief carvings of local plants – water lilies, jonquils, and Spanish moss-covered trees.
This moss-green vase with stylized fruit bears the mark of Mazie T. Ryan, a female decorator working from about 1897-1910. It is important to note that although the Newcomb Pottery was instrumental in giving women like Ms. Ryan early working opportunities and a trade education, college organizers still felt that throwing vessels was not an appropriate occupation for women. Like nearly every other vessel made at Newcomb, this vase was thrown by Joseph Fortune Meyer, who was involved with the earliest developments of the Newcomb Pottery from 1893.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1900
c. 1905
maker
Newcomb Pottery
ID Number
CE.237987
catalog number
237987
accession number
45745

Pewabic vase

Before becoming an international phenomenon, the Arts and Crafts movement began with the ideas of British artisan William Morris (1834-1896) and writer John Ruskin (1819-1900).
Description
Before becoming an international phenomenon, the Arts and Crafts movement began with the ideas of British artisan William Morris (1834-1896) and writer John Ruskin (1819-1900). Morris and Ruskin believed that the growth of cities isolated urban workers and that mass production negatively affected artisan crafts. They proposed to solve these issues by returning to a medieval-inspired village model where everybody participated in a community lifestyle. In the United States, artisans adapted these ideas into the studio art pottery movement. Unlike their British counterparts, who often focused predominantly on social issues and therefore made objects that incorporated Gothic and Renaissance motifs, American craftsmen developed a cohesive and novel aesthetic.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1906
maker
Pewabic Pottery
ID Number
CE.379753
catalog number
379753
accession number
150313

Houses in Badonviller

Ink wash sketch on heavy white card. Facade of a house showing the effects of recent bombardments. Two soldiers sitting up against a stairway; another soldier stands in the road. The dugout cellar shelter depicted is characteristic of where soldiers lived during the war.
Description
Ink wash sketch on heavy white card. Facade of a house showing the effects of recent bombardments. Two soldiers sitting up against a stairway; another soldier stands in the road. The dugout cellar shelter depicted is characteristic of where soldiers lived during the war. A label affixed to the bottom of the sketch reads: "HOUSES IN BADONVILLER/BY E. PEIXOTTO/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2995." This label is glued over another illegible label.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918-04
associated date
1917-1918
associated person
War Department
artist
Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
ID Number
AF.25837
catalog number
25837
accession number
64592

Chateau Thierry

Ink wash sketch. The scene depicts the village of Chateau Thierry as seen from the Old Chateau. A label affixed to the bottom of the drawing reads: "CHATEAU THIERRY/From the terrace of the Old Chateau, July 21, 1918/BY E.
Description
Ink wash sketch. The scene depicts the village of Chateau Thierry as seen from the Old Chateau. A label affixed to the bottom of the drawing reads: "CHATEAU THIERRY/From the terrace of the Old Chateau, July 21, 1918/BY E. PEIXOTTO/TRANSFERRED FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT/2977."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918-06
associated date
1917-1918
associated person
War Department
maker
Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
ID Number
AF.25819
catalog number
25819
accession number
64592

Corset and Whalebone Scrimshaw Busk

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1825 - 1835
fashion
19th century
ID Number
CS.287645.001
catalog number
287645.001

Eagle Figure

This figure is made of painted wood. It is a figure of a spread eagle with flags and banner that reads "E Pluribus Unum." According to the accession file, this figuyre was likely used on a ship.
Description
This figure is made of painted wood. It is a figure of a spread eagle with flags and banner that reads "E Pluribus Unum." According to the accession file, this figuyre was likely used on a ship.
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
CL.68.433
accession number
260206
catalog number
68.433
collector/donor number
B-15

Stern Board Eagle Figure

This figure was made of painted pine (paint is original). It is a stern board figure of an eagle, turning left, right claw holds a shield with an American flag pattern. The left claw holds a globe. The background is painted black.
Description
This figure was made of painted pine (paint is original). It is a stern board figure of an eagle, turning left, right claw holds a shield with an American flag pattern. The left claw holds a globe. The background is painted black. According to the accession file, this figure was found in Portland, Maine.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
ID Number
CL.68.432
accession number
260206
catalog number
68.432
collector/donor number
B-14

Eagle Figure

This figure is made of painted wood. It is a figure of an eagle on shell with two American flags. The eagle faces left and is a companion piece to CL*68.435.Currently not on view
Description
This figure is made of painted wood. It is a figure of an eagle on shell with two American flags. The eagle faces left and is a companion piece to CL*68.435.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
CL.68.434
accession number
260206
catalog number
68.434
collector/donor number
B-16

Minton porcelain pâte-sur-pâte vase

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1870-1904
c.1888
ID Number
CE.P-996
catalog number
P-996
accession number
225282

Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, mid 19th Century

This small tooth has four images on it that appear unrelated. On the bottom of the main side is an oceangoing three-masted sidewheel paddle steamship.
Description
This small tooth has four images on it that appear unrelated. On the bottom of the main side is an oceangoing three-masted sidewheel paddle steamship. An American flag flying at the stern identifies its nationality, and the presence of the three masts alongside the steam engine indicates that it predates the 1880s. By that time, steam engines were reliable enough to eliminate the need for auxiliary sail on ocean steamers.
Above the steamer at a different scale is a long, three story building with rectangular windows along the side wing and end on the ground level. On the end are arched and semi-circular windows above the main door, to which a set of stairs ascends. Three long vertical spikes are spaced along the roof that may represent lightning rods. The long roof has three dormers along its length and a tree is visible at the end of the wing. Above the building is a sketchy eagle grasping a schematized shield and arrows in his talons. To the left of the eagle is a crest with stars and stripes. There may be a story linking the four pictures to each other, but it is long lost in time.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
DL.65.1136
catalog number
65.1136
accession number
256396

Guns and Locomotives in a Shop at St. Nazaire

A pencil sketch on paper of a shop in St. Nazaire, France that manufactures artillery pieces and locomotives for the war. Two men stand in the center of a large building, surrounded by equipment.Currently not on view
Description
A pencil sketch on paper of a shop in St. Nazaire, France that manufactures artillery pieces and locomotives for the war. Two men stand in the center of a large building, surrounded by equipment.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918-07
associated date
1917-1918
associated person
War Department
artist
Smith, J. Andre
ID Number
AF.25987
catalog number
25987
accession number
64592

Whitall, Tatum and Company Paperweight

In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter.
Description (Brief)
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
Whitall, Tatum & Company of Millville, New Jersey was formed in 1901 and employed first rate craftsmen who created outstanding paperweights.
This Whitall, Tatum and Company paperweight features a red Rose and a pedestal base. This style of Rose is attributed to glassworker Ralph Barber.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
Whitall, Tatum and Company
ID Number
CE.67.230
catalog number
67.230
accession number
213138

American Soldiers on the March

Charcoal sketch on board. Troops marching through a shell-torn village. In the foreground are several soldiers and a horse-drawn wagon; these are in shadow. The background of the picture is in light and includes more troops, trucks, buildings, and trees.Currently not on view
Description
Charcoal sketch on board. Troops marching through a shell-torn village. In the foreground are several soldiers and a horse-drawn wagon; these are in shadow. The background of the picture is in light and includes more troops, trucks, buildings, and trees.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918-07
associated date
1917-1918
referenced
1918-07-10
associated person
War Department
maker
Morgan, Wallace
ID Number
AF.25759
catalog number
25759
accession number
64592

Watering Horses in Village in Toul Sector

Pencil and ink wash sketch on paper. The work shows a group of mounted soldiers watering their horses in a village in the Tour Sector of France during World War I.
Description
Pencil and ink wash sketch on paper. The work shows a group of mounted soldiers watering their horses in a village in the Tour Sector of France during World War I. The village church is in the center of the sketch; to the right and behind the church is a small castle surrounded by trees.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918-06
artist
Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
ID Number
AF.25898
catalog number
25898
accession number
64592

Minton parian porcelain pâte-sur-pâte covered vase

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
c. 1870-1904
date made
c. 1890
ID Number
CE.P-988ab
catalog number
P-988ab
accession number
225282

Boy with a Snowball

The signed pencil drawing was squared with faint grid lines for transfer to another medium, probably a plate for reproduction as an etching or engraving. It could also have been squared for transfer to a canvas.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
The signed pencil drawing was squared with faint grid lines for transfer to another medium, probably a plate for reproduction as an etching or engraving. It could also have been squared for transfer to a canvas.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
original artist
Schussele, Christian
ID Number
GA.16633
catalog number
16633
accession number
119780

Taking Artillery Around the Mine Crater in the Road to Varennes

Charcoal sketch on paper. A large cross is surrounded by several smaller crosses, some bearing wreaths or ribbons, in the foreground. A group of soldiers is resting among the crosses. Some men appear to be eating.
Description
Charcoal sketch on paper. A large cross is surrounded by several smaller crosses, some bearing wreaths or ribbons, in the foreground. A group of soldiers is resting among the crosses. Some men appear to be eating. A group of soldiers, on foot and on horseback, ascend a small hill in the background. At the end of this procession is a large piece of artillery. On the right of the sketch is a crater; some soldiers are walking up and out of the depression while others are at work inside the crater.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918-09
associated date
1917-1918
associated person
War Department
maker
Morgan, Wallace
ID Number
AF.25783
catalog number
25783
accession number
64592

Merviller

Charcoal and ink wash sketch on paper. This rough sketch depicts a village street with a camouflage apparatus hung over the street. Soldiers are in the thoroughfare, under the camouflage screen.
Description
Charcoal and ink wash sketch on paper. This rough sketch depicts a village street with a camouflage apparatus hung over the street. Soldiers are in the thoroughfare, under the camouflage screen. The museum's catalogue card for this drawing reads, "The road through Merviller is on the slope of a hill and is exposed to German observation. But by the use overhead camouflage screening, one strip of which is here shown, the traffic along this road is entirely concealed."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918-04
associated date
1917-1918
associated person
War Department
artist
Smith, J. Andre
ID Number
AF.26014
catalog number
26014
accession number
64592

Refrigerating Plant at Geivres

This colorful sketch on paper depicts the refrigeration plan in Gièvres, France. During World War I, Engineers of the American Expeditionary Forces built refrigeration plants to preserve the meat used for soldiers' rations.
Description
This colorful sketch on paper depicts the refrigeration plan in Gièvres, France. During World War I, Engineers of the American Expeditionary Forces built refrigeration plants to preserve the meat used for soldiers' rations. The plant at Gièvres was the largest in France and began operation on May 1, 1918.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918-07
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
War Department
Smith, J. Andre
artist
Smith, J. Andre
ID Number
AF.26044
catalog number
26044
accession number
64592

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