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.

Resource Type: Paintings

Charles H. Muir

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of two star General Charles H. Muir. Army Service Ribbons for Decorations and Medals include: Unkown ribbon (solid red, possibly Specially Meritorious Medal), Spanish Campaign, Army of Cuban Occupation, Philippine Campaign, and China Campaign.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of two star General Charles H. Muir. Army Service Ribbons for Decorations and Medals include: Unkown ribbon (solid red, possibly Specially Meritorious Medal), Spanish Campaign, Army of Cuban Occupation, Philippine Campaign, and China Campaign. Muir wears officer pins on his collar and a Sam Browne belt. He is clean shaven and is balding.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58099M
catalog number
58099M
accession number
203612

Painting - Division of the Square by Conic Rectangles

This painting shows three rectangles of equal area, one in shades of blue, one in shades of purple, and one in shades of pink.
Description
This painting shows three rectangles of equal area, one in shades of blue, one in shades of purple, and one in shades of pink. The height of the middle rectangle equals the height of the first rectangle less its own width, while the height of the third rectangle equals the height of the first triangle less the width of the first triangle. Crockett Johnson associated these properties with conic curves. The construction is that of the artist. The coloring was suggested by a recently discovered French cave painting. The narrow rectangle on the left side and the dark, thin triangle at the base were also added to correspond to the cave painting.
The oil painting on masonite is #60 in the series. It is signed: CJ70, and inscribed on the back: DIVISION OF THE SQUARE BY CONIC RECTANGLES (/) (GNOMON ADDED AT THE SUGGESTION OF A CRO-MAGNON (/) ARTIST OF LASCAUX (/) Crockett Johnson 1970. The painting is in a black wooden frame. For related documentation see 1979.3083.02.05.
Reference: Crockett Johnson, "On the Mathematics of Geometry in My Abstract Paintings," Leonardo 5 (1972): pp. 98–101.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.37
catalog number
1979.1093.37
accession number
1979.1093

Carl C. Mayhew

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of First Lieutenant Carl C. Mayhew. Mayhew wears officer and officer infantry pins on his collar. He also wears a Sam Browne belt that has not been filled in with color. Mayhew has blue eyes and thinning light brown hair.Currently not on view
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of First Lieutenant Carl C. Mayhew. Mayhew wears officer and officer infantry pins on his collar. He also wears a Sam Browne belt that has not been filled in with color. Mayhew has blue eyes and thinning light brown hair.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58068M
catalog number
58068M
accession number
203612

Pearl J. Wines

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Sergeant Pearl J. Wines. Wines wears a olive drab tunic with four gold chevrons on his right arm (indicating wounds he recieved at St. Mihiel) and a a "US" collar disk.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Sergeant Pearl J. Wines. Wines wears a olive drab tunic with four gold chevrons on his right arm (indicating wounds he recieved at St. Mihiel) and a a "US" collar disk. He also wears a artillery belt, a M1917 helmet with chinstrap, and a Rockwell US 1917 rifle on his back. His signature in red crayon is in the top right corner. D.S.C. citation written on back. White cardboard (3 x 4'') glued to reverse. D.S.C. citation written on back. White cardboard (3 x 4'') glued to reverse.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58092M
catalog number
58092M
accession number
203612

Patrick Walsh

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Sergeant Patrick Walsh. Army Decorations and Medals include: Distinguished Service Cross and Croix de Guerre with palm.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Sergeant Patrick Walsh. Army Decorations and Medals include: Distinguished Service Cross and Croix de Guerre with palm. Walsh wears a tunic with three gold chevrons on his left arm (indicating overseas service) and a 1st infantry division insignia patch on the shoulder of his left arm. He also wears a M1917 helmet with chinstap and a haversack (he grips the staps with both hands). Only his head, helmet, medals, shoulder patch, and chevrons have been filled in with color. Walsh's signature in crayon is at the bottom of the portait.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58066M
catalog number
58066M
accession number
203612

Painting - Mystic Hexagon (Pascal)

This painting is based on a theorem generalized by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1640, when he was sixteen years old. When the opposite sides of a irregular hexagon inscribed in a circle are extended, they meet in three points.
Description
This painting is based on a theorem generalized by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1640, when he was sixteen years old. When the opposite sides of a irregular hexagon inscribed in a circle are extended, they meet in three points. Pappus, writing in the 4th century AD, had shown in his Mathematical Collections that these three points lie on the same line. In the painting, the circle and cream-colored hexagon are at the center, with the sectors associated with different pairs of lines shown in green, blue and gray. The three points of intersection are along the top; the line that would join them is not shown. Pascal generalized the theorem to include hexagons inscribed in any conic section, not just a circle. Hence the figure came to be known as "Pascal’s hexagon" or, to use Pascal’s terminology, the "mystic hexagon." Pascal’s work in this area is known primarily from notes on his manuscripts taken by the German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz after his death.
There is a discussion of Pascal’s hexagon in an article by Morris Kline on projective geometry published in James R. Newman's World of Mathematics (1956). A figure shown on page 629 of this work may have been the basis of Crockett Johnson's painting, although it is not annotated in his copy of the book.
The oil or acrylic painting on masonite is signed on the bottom right: CJ65. It is marked on the back: Crockett Johnson (/) "Mystic" Hexagon (/) (Pascal). It is #10 in the series.
References: Carl Boyer and Uta Merzbach, A History of Mathematics (1991), pp. 359–62.
Florian Cajori, A History of Elementary Mathematics (1897), 255–56.
Morris Bishop, Pascal: The Life of a Genius (1964), pp. 11, 81–7.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
referenced
Pascal, Blaise
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.05
catalog number
1979.1093.05
accession number
1979.1093

Painting - Square Root of Pi

This oil painting is an original construction of Crockett Johnson. Since there are no notes on this construction, there is no way to tell what, if any, geometrical statement Johnson was representing in this painting.
Description
This oil painting is an original construction of Crockett Johnson. Since there are no notes on this construction, there is no way to tell what, if any, geometrical statement Johnson was representing in this painting. It may be the case that he merely thought of a more artistic way to portray the rectangles with area the square root of pi that appear in notes used for another painting, “Pi Squared and its Square Root” (#83 - 1979.1093.54).
This painting has at its center a circle with center O and area pi. Also in the painting there are two rectangles, each of area the square root of pi, that share a diagonal that is the diameter of the circle with one end at point E. The black rectangle in the painting has sides CE and EX and the blue rectangle has sides DE and EF. The square in the painting is congruent to the square BDXA so it also has area pi, but it has been translated so its center is the same as the center of the circle, i.e. at O.
This is one of two paintings in the collection with this same title referring to the area the rectangles shown in the paintings. The geometry of the two is identical but the dimensions and colors are different. For this painting, #100 in the series, Johnson illustrates the subject, vividly through the electric blue color of the rectangle. Its partner, #89 in the series (1979.1093.58), displays the same rectangle in white, which contrasts brilliantly with its black and purple surroundings.
The painting is unsigned and its precise date is unknown. It has a plain wooden frame.
This painting is unsigned and its precise date is unknown. It has a plain wooden frame.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970-1975
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.67
catalog number
1979.1093.67
accession number
1979.1093

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

Painting - Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem (Euclid)

The Pythagorean theorem states that in any right triangle, the square of the side opposite the right angle (the hypotenuse), is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
Description
The Pythagorean theorem states that in any right triangle, the square of the side opposite the right angle (the hypotenuse), is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. This painting depicts the “windmill” figure found in Proposition 47 of Book I of Euclid’s Elements. Although the method of the proof depicted was written about 300 BC and is credited to Euclid, the theorem is named for Pythagoras, who lived 250 years earlier. It was known to the Babylonians centuries before then. However, knowing a theorem is different from demonstrating it, and the first surviving demonstration of this theorem is found in Euclid’s Elements.
Crockett Johnson based his painting on a diagram in Ivor Thomas’s article on Greek mathematics in The World of Mathematics, edited by James R. Newman (1956), p. 191. The proof is based on a comparison of areas. Euclid constructed a square on the hypotenuse BΓ of the right triangle ABΓ. The altitude of this triangle originating at right angle A is extended across this square. Euclid also constructed squares on the two shorter sides of the right triangle. He showed that the square on side AB was of equal area to the rectangle of sides BΔ and Δ;Λ. Similarly, the area of the square on side AΓ was of equal area to the rectangle of sides EΓ and EΛ. But then the square of the hypotenuse of the right triangle equals the sum of the squares of the shorter sides, as desired.
Crockett Johnson executed the right triangle in the neutral, yet highly contrasting, hues of white and black. Each square area that rests on the sides of the triangle is painted with a combination of one primary color and black. This draws the viewer’s attention to the areas that complete Euclid’s proof of the Pythagorean theorem.
Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem, painting #2 in the series, is one of Crockett Johnson’s earliest geometric paintings. It was completed in 1965 and is marked: CJ65. It also is signed on the back: Crockett Johnson 1965 (/) PROOF OF THE PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM (/) (EUCLID).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
referenced
Euclid
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.01
catalog number
1979.1093.01
accession number
1979.1093

Jacob Loucks Devers

A three-quarters portrait of General Jacob Loucks Devers depicted as Commanding General, Armoured Force, European Theatre of Operations, 6th Army Group Army Ground Forces. An oil painting on an illustration board.
Description
A three-quarters portrait of General Jacob Loucks Devers depicted as Commanding General, Armoured Force, European Theatre of Operations, 6th Army Group Army Ground Forces. An oil painting on an illustration board. A white man with gray and brown hair, General Devers is facing right wearing a brown service uniform. He has seventeen ribbons on his left chest, four stars on his shoulder pads indicating his rank as a General, U.S. officer insignia on his collar, and a blue/white/red shoulder sleeve insignia indicating the Army Ground Forces. His signature can be seen on the bottom of the portrait.The identification of the seventeen ribbons are given below proceeding from the top row to the bottom and from left to right: Distinguished Service Cross with two gold miniature oak leaves, Distinguished Service Medal, Bronze Star, Victory (World War I), Possibly Purple Heart, American Defense Service, American Campaign, European-African-Middle eastern Campaign with one silver and one gold star, Victory (World War II), and Army of Occupation Medal, Possibly Order of the Bath (UK), possibly Order of Military Merit (Brazil), French Legion of Honor, French Croix de Guerre (with four palms), unknown, and unknown. The unknown ribbons might be awards from foreign services and governments that are unable to be identified.
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1941 - 1945
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
maker
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.46987
catalog number
46987
accession number
166217

Hulon B. Whittington

Oil on thick illustration board. Portrait of Sergeant Hulon B. Whittington. Whittington wears a olive drab field uniform with a green and yellow scarf around his neck. In his right hand, and resting on his right knee, is a US M3 submachine gun.
Description
Oil on thick illustration board. Portrait of Sergeant Hulon B. Whittington. Whittington wears a olive drab field uniform with a green and yellow scarf around his neck. In his right hand, and resting on his right knee, is a US M3 submachine gun. Whittington sits with his left shoulder to the viewer and is in front of a white and green background. He has brown hair and is clean shaven. Whittington's signature in pencil is inthe top left corner.
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1941 - 1945
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.47018
catalog number
47018
accession number
166217

Whitney D. Sherman

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Corporal Whitney D. Sherman. Sherman wears a haversack, a unknown collar disk, a artillery belt, and a M1917 helmet with chinstrap.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Corporal Whitney D. Sherman. Sherman wears a haversack, a unknown collar disk, a artillery belt, and a M1917 helmet with chinstrap. He also wears a gold chevron on his lower right sleeve indicating wounds recieved in action at Belleau Woods. Sherman rests a rifle on his lower right arm. He also has a moustache. Sherman's signature in red crayon is in the lower right.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58062M
catalog number
58062M
accession number
203612

Painting - Law of Orbiting Velocities

This creation, similar to works #22 (1979.1093.16) and #76 (1979.1093.50), is a further example of Crockett Johnson's work relating to Kepler's first two laws of planetary motion.
Description
This creation, similar to works #22 (1979.1093.16) and #76 (1979.1093.50), is a further example of Crockett Johnson's work relating to Kepler's first two laws of planetary motion. The ellipse represents the path of a planet and the white sections represent equal areas swept out in equal times. This work is a silk screen on paper. It is number 99 in the series, and is signed in the right corner: Crockett Johnson (/) 67. It draws on a figure from The World of Mathematics by James R. Newman.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1967
referenced
Kepler, Johannes
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.66
catalog number
1979.1093.66
accession number
1979.1093

Frank M Williams

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Major Frank M. Williams.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Major Frank M. Williams. Williams wears the Distinguished Service Cross Medal and a large pin with two crossed devices in a wreath with a top supporting bar (resembles the Coast Artillery Corps insignia, but fot Williams possibly references his srevice in the Machine Gun Battalion) above the left breast pocket of his tunic. He also wears officer pins on his collar, the insignia of a Major on his shoulder loops, and a 82nd Infantry division insignia patch on the shoulder of his left arm sleeve. Williams holds a burning cigar in his right hand and possibly has a object tucked under his right arm. He has black/grey hair, brown eyes and a moustache. Williams' right hand has not been filled in with color. His signature in red crayon is in the lower left of the portrait. Catalogue card reads: One oil portriat of F.M. Williams, AEF, 1919, by Joseph Cummings Chase. A distinguished Service Cross Ribbon is painted in the upper left hand corner of the frame; Distinguished Service Medal Ribbon on lower left side of frame. Frame is antiqued. Printed account, w/copy of portrait of WWI exploits attached.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58390M-A
catalog number
58390M-A
accession number
212053

Painting - Square Root Of Pi - 0.00001

This oil painting on masonite, #91 in the series, uses the same construction as that of painting #52 (see 1979.1093.35).
Description
This oil painting on masonite, #91 in the series, uses the same construction as that of painting #52 (see 1979.1093.35). Crockett Johnson's construction leads to a square with side approximately equal to 1.772435, which differs from the square root of pi by less than 0.00001, as the title states. Thus, a square with this side would have an area approximately equal to 3.1415258.
Unlike painting #52 (1979.1093.35), the circle of this work is divided into four quadrants. Crockett Johnson chose darker shades and lighter tints of pink to illustrate his figure, which appear bold juxtaposed against the black background. The triangle executed in the lightest tint of pink and the shape executed in white with a pink tip adjoin the horizontal line segment that has an approximate length of the square root of pi.
This painting was completed in 1972, is unsigned, and has a wooden frame accented with chrome. On the back is an inscription, partly obscured, that reads: - 0.00001 (/) Crockett Johnson 1972.
Some sources refer to this painting as Circle Squared to 0.0001.
date made
1972
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.60
catalog number
1979.1093.60
accession number
1979.1093

Fred C. Stein

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Corporal Fred C. Stein. Army Service Ribbons for Decorations and Medals include the Distinguish Service Cross. Stein wears a haversack with a M1917 helmet secured to the front using its chinstrap.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Corporal Fred C. Stein. Army Service Ribbons for Decorations and Medals include the Distinguish Service Cross. Stein wears a haversack with a M1917 helmet secured to the front using its chinstrap. He also wears a overseas cap and khaki coat. Stien is hunched over and has his right shoulder to the viewer. He is clean shaven has as blue eyes. His signature is in the left bottom corner in red crayon.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58063M
catalog number
58063M
accession number
203612

Jack A. Osborne

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Captain Jack A. Osborne. Osborne wears a olive drab uniform with a infantry pin on his collar and a helmet liner. He has a holster slung across his middle and tucked under his left arm.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Captain Jack A. Osborne. Osborne wears a olive drab uniform with a infantry pin on his collar and a helmet liner. He has a holster slung across his middle and tucked under his left arm. Osborne holds a trench knife in his right hand and rests his right elbow on a post. He is in front of a blue background. Osborne's signature is in the bottom left corner. Catalogue card reads: 41st Inf. Division.
Location
Currently not on view
associated date
1951 - 1953
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58378M
catalog number
58378M
accession number
211728

Edmund Wittenmyer

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of two star General Edmund Wittenmyer. Army Service Ribbons for Decorations and Medals include: China Campaign, Sampson Medal, and Army of Cuban Pacification. Wittenmyer wears officer pins on the collar of his tunic and a Sam Browne belt.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of two star General Edmund Wittenmyer. Army Service Ribbons for Decorations and Medals include: China Campaign, Sampson Medal, and Army of Cuban Pacification. Wittenmyer wears officer pins on the collar of his tunic and a Sam Browne belt. He holds a cigar in his left hand (which is slightly raised and has a gold ring on the pinky finger). Wittenmyer has white/blonde hair and also wears glasses. Only his head, collar, shoulder loops, serivce ribbons, and cigar are filled in with color. Wittenmyer's signature is in the bottom left corner.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58116M
catalog number
58116M
accession number
203612

Painting - Area and Perimeter of a Squared Circle

To "square” a figure, according to the classical Greek tradition, means to construct, with the aid of only straightedge and compass, a square equal in area to that of the figure. The Greeks could square numerous figures, but were unsuccessful in efforts to square a circle.
Description
To "square” a figure, according to the classical Greek tradition, means to construct, with the aid of only straightedge and compass, a square equal in area to that of the figure. The Greeks could square numerous figures, but were unsuccessful in efforts to square a circle. It was not until the nineteenth century that the impossibility of squaring a circle was demonstrated.
This painting is an original construction by Crockett Johnson. It begins with the assumption that the circle has been squared, the area of the larger square equals that of the circle. Crockett Johnson then constructed a smaller square so that it has perimeter equal to the circumference of the circle. His diagram for the painting is shown, with the large square having side AB and the small one side of length AC.
The painting is #95 in the series. It has a black background. There is a rose circle superimposed on two gray squares. The painting is unsigned and has a metal frame.
Reference: Carl B. Boyer and Uta C. Merzbach, A History of Mathematics (1991), pp. 65-7, pp. 71–2.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970-1975
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.63
catalog number
1979.1093.63
accession number
1979.1093

James W. McAndrew

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Major General James W. McAndrew.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Major General James W. McAndrew. Army Service Ribbons for Decorations and Medals include: Unknown Ribbon (solid red, possibly Légion d'honneur), Spanish Campaign, Sampson Medal, and Unknown Ribbon (angle of ribbon makes design hard to read appears to include bands of blue, yellow, red, possibly WWI Victory). McAndrew wears a officer and General Staff Corps pins on his collar and a Sam Browne belt. He also has a moustache.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58104M
catalog number
58104M
accession number
203612

John C. Latham

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Sergeant John C. Latham. Latham wears M1917 helmet with chinstrap. He has blue eyes and possibly wears a model 1916 shirt.Currently not on view
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Sergeant John C. Latham. Latham wears M1917 helmet with chinstrap. He has blue eyes and possibly wears a model 1916 shirt.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58056M
catalog number
58056M
accession number
203612

Samuel Woodfill

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Sergeant Samuel Woodfill.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Sergeant Samuel Woodfill. Army Service Ribbons for Decorations and Medals include: Unknown Ribbon (solid light blue, possibly Medal of Honnor but missing white stars), Légion d'honneur, Croix de Guerre with palm, Cross of Prince Danilo, First Class, Italy's Merito de Guerra, Philippine Campaign, Mexican Boarder, Victory with three gold stars. Woodfill wears officer and infantry pins on the collar of his tunic, shoulder loop insignia (resembeling that of a second lieutenant) and 5th Infantry Division insignia on the shoulder of his left arm sleeve. He also wears a service cap with the insignia of the United States and a Sam Browne belt. Woodfill has brown hair, blue eyes,and is clean shaven. His signature in pencil is at the bottom of the portrait.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.46206
catalog number
46206
accession number
180139

C. M. Wagstaff

Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Brigadier General C.M. Wagstaff.
Description
Oil on illustration board. Portrait of Brigadier General C.M. Wagstaff. Military awards and decoration of the United Kingdom includes: Unknown Ribbon (blue ribbon with a center block of red, possibly New Zealand Medal), Unknown ribbon (solid dark blue), Distinguished Service Order, King George Coronation Medal, Unknown Ribbon (dark blue with a large green block in center), Unknown Ribbon (half red and half white), Croix de Guerre. Wagstaff wears a British officers uniform with a service dress cap with a cap badge (that resembels machine gun insignia in a laurel wreath) on top a red band, a Brigadier gorget on his lapels, and a Sam Browne belt. He has a brown moustache and blue eyes. Wagstaff's signature in the bottom center of the portrait in pencil.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1918
associated date
1917 - 1918
associated person
Chase, Joseph Cummings
Chase, Joseph Cummings
artist
Chase, Joseph Cummings
ID Number
AF.58387M
catalog number
58387M
accession number
212053

Painting - Square Root of Pi

This oil painting is an original construction of Crockett Johnson. Since there are no notes on this construction, there is no way to tell what, if any, geometrical statement Johnson was representing in this painting.
Description
This oil painting is an original construction of Crockett Johnson. Since there are no notes on this construction, there is no way to tell what, if any, geometrical statement Johnson was representing in this painting. It may be the case that he merely thought of a more artistic way to portray the rectangles with area the square root of pi that appear in notes used for another painting, “Pi Squared and its Square Root” (1979.1093.54).
This painting has at its center a circle with center O and area pi. Also in the painting there are two rectangles, each of area the square root of pi, that share a diagonal that is the diameter of the circle with one end at point E. The purple rectangle in the painting has sides CE and EX and the white rectangle has sides DE and EF. The square in the painting is congruent to the square BDXA so it also has area pi, but it has been translated so its center is the same as the center of the circle, i.e. at O.
This is one of two paintings in the collection with this same title referring to the area the rectangles shown in the paintings. The geometry of the two is identical (see painting #100 - 1979.1093.67) but the dimensions and colors are different. The method of the color scheme of this painting, #89 in the series, is similar to painting #100 because, like the electric blue rectangle in the other painting, the white color of the rectangle against the purple background creates a dramatic contrast that highlights a rectangle with area the title of the painting.
This painting was executed in oil on masonite and has a black wooden frame. It is unsigned and undated.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970-1975
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.58
catalog number
1979.1093.58
accession number
1979.1093

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.