Religion

Page from the Koran

One hallmark of the American experience captured in the Museum's collections is the nation's broad diversity of religious faiths. Artifacts range from Thomas Jefferson's Bible to a huge "Sunstone" sculpture carved for a Mormon temple in Illinois in 1844 to a household shrine from the home of a Pueblo Indian in the 1990s. Furniture, musical instruments, clothing, cooking ware, and thousands of prints and figures in the collections have all played roles in the religious lives of Americans. The most comprehensive collections include artifacts from Jewish and Christian European Americans, Catholic Latinos, Protestant Arab Americans, Buddhist and Christian Asian Pacific Americans, and Protestant African Americans. One notable group is the Vidal Collection of carved figures known as santos and other folk religious material from the practice of Santeria in Puerto Rico.

Topic: Art

Church of the Storm Country

Drypoint with aquatint by Gene Kloss (1903-1996). Born Alice Geneva Glasier, Kloss changed her first name to a masculine variation of her middle name after her marriage to the writer Phillips Kloss.
Description
Drypoint with aquatint by Gene Kloss (1903-1996). Born Alice Geneva Glasier, Kloss changed her first name to a masculine variation of her middle name after her marriage to the writer Phillips Kloss. She hoped the change would benefit her artistic career by eliminating prejudiced views of her work as a woman.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c. 1930s
Associated Date
1957/8
graphic artist
Kloss, Gene
ID Number
GA.17578
catalog number
17578
accession number
159237

He Who Runs May Read by Kelloggs & Comstock

This colored print is an outdoor scene of a group of well-dressed people who look, hide their faces, or run from a vision that appears in the sky. The vision includes Hebrew letters followed by the inscription "God, All-knowing, all-good, all-wise.
Description
This colored print is an outdoor scene of a group of well-dressed people who look, hide their faces, or run from a vision that appears in the sky. The vision includes Hebrew letters followed by the inscription "God, All-knowing, all-good, all-wise. He judges." The inspiration for this is taken from the writings of the prophet Habakkuk 2:2 – Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.” In other words, let the teachings of Christ be so clearly described, that they may be easily understood at once.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm of Kelloggs & Comstock in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1848, John Chenevard Comstock (1818-1862) formed a partnership with E.B. and E.C. Kellogg. In 1850, Edmund Burke Kellogg (1809-1872) left the firm, leaving his brother Elijah Chapman Kellogg (1811-1881) and J.C. Comstock to run the lithography firm as Kellogg and Comstock. The short-lived partnership disbanded in 1851.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1852
distributors
Ensign, Thayer and Company
maker
Kelloggs & Comstock
ID Number
DL.60.2942
catalog number
60.2942
accession number
228146

St. Francis in Esctacy

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
original artist
Zurbaran, Francisco de
ID Number
GA.15745.02
catalog number
15745.02
accession number
94830

Moon Bridge at Kameido

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1914
graphic artist
Hyde, Helen
ID Number
GA.13274
catalog number
13274
accession number
69905

Evening in the City, Synagogue at Eutaw Place, Baltimore

"Evening in the City, Synagogue at Eutaw Place, Baltimore" is a color etching by Gabrielle de Veaux Clements (1858–1948). The very small image, printed predominantly in blues and browns, depicts a view across the city at twilight.
Description
"Evening in the City, Synagogue at Eutaw Place, Baltimore" is a color etching by Gabrielle de Veaux Clements (1858–1948). The very small image, printed predominantly in blues and browns, depicts a view across the city at twilight. In the foreground, very faintly rendered with delicate lines, is the roof of a building, the moldings barely visible in the shadows. Two birds are perched on the right side of the rooftop. Along the horizon is a row of buildings. The largest, presumably the synagogue, has a dome and a spire. Several tiny windows are lit with a glowing, yellow light.
Between the years of 1896 and 1927 Clements created several etchings of Baltimore, later to be known as "The Baltimore Series." The series comprised five large plates of significant Baltimore landmarks, such as the Washington Monument and Mount Vernon Place. "Evening in the City," printed in 1920, could be a study for the series.
Toward the end of their careers in 1936 Clements and her partner and fellow printmaker Ellen Day Hale exhibited jointly at the Smithsonian. By that time they had been producing prints for more than sixty years. Their work was included in the first exhibition of etchings exclusively by women at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1887. As a response to the Etching Revival of the late 19th century, curator Sylvester R. Koehler included more than 400 etchings by twenty-five artists in the very successful exhibition titled Women Etchers of America. In 1888 the Union League Club in New York exhibited the same works, plus about 100 more by eleven additional women. A traveling exhibition celebrating the centennial of these two ground-breaking shows, American Women of the Etching Revival, was organized by the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia in 1988. The NMAH lent works by Hale, Clements and others, and the Museum showed the exhibition in Washington in 1989.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1920
ID Number
GA.10740
catalog number
10740
accession number
62397

A Rabbi

This etching by Léopold Flameng is known as either Un Rabbin or Un Vieux (An Old Man). The painting by Rembrandt hangs in the Musée Bonat, Bayonne, France.
Description
This etching by Léopold Flameng is known as either Un Rabbin or Un Vieux (An Old Man). The painting by Rembrandt hangs in the Musée Bonat, Bayonne, France. The print was etched for the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, a publication started in Paris by Charles Blanc in 1859, which ceased only recently. Flameng had met Blanc in the studio of a well-known engraver, Luigi Calamatta, and became one of two graphic artists on the new publication. He etched no fewer than 100 plates for the Gazette and some forty plates for Blanc’s book on Rembrandt’s work, published in 1859. Flameng’s etchings after Rembrandt were highly regarded by collectors in this period.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
19th century
original artist
Rembrandt van Rijn
graphic artist
Flameng, Léopold
publisher
Gazette des Beaux-Arts
ID Number
GA.14958
catalog number
14958
accession number
94830

Emery Chamberlain's Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church Certificate by Major & Knapp Engraving, Manufacturing & Lithographic Company

This black and white print is of a life membership certificate issued to a Miss Emely Chamberlain by the Black River Conference, an Auxiliary to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Black River Conference was organized in Watertown, N. Y.
Description
This black and white print is of a life membership certificate issued to a Miss Emely Chamberlain by the Black River Conference, an Auxiliary to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Black River Conference was organized in Watertown, N. Y. in September 1836, by Bishop Beverly Waugh and later incorporated in 1841. The Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, begun in 1820 and headquartered in New York City, was among the earliest organizations that focused on mission within and outside the United States. Miss Emely Chamberlain could be one of several individuals living in New York with the name of Emely Chamberlin or Chamberlain during this period. The certificate indicates a monetary charge for the membership.
There are three vignettes depicting religious scenes: a large one at the top and two smaller ones in the lower corners. The top of the print proclaims, “Come Over Into Macedonia And Help Us,” while below it appears a figure of Christ motioning to two reclining followers. The scene in the lower left corner appears to represent worshippers from the Old Testament, while the images in the lower right corner portray a figure of Christ preaching to the multitudes.
The region of Macedonia was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to the early 20th Centuries. In the latter half of the 19th century, Greece and the neighboring Balkan countries all claimed rights in Ottoman Macedonia on historical, linguistic, and religious grounds. Thus, they all attempted to show the strength of their respective ethnic groups in this geographically ill-defined area. The steady decline of the Ottoman Empire encouraged the Christian population and its supporters in other countries to press their claims. This print was produced by Major & Knapp Engraving, Manufacturing & Lithographic Company. The firm was founded by Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896), who was born in Quebec and trained under several lithography firms, including Currier & Ives and H.R. Robinson. Sarony was also known for his successful experiments in early photography, and he eventually developed a cabinet-sized camera. In 1846, Sarony partnered with another former apprentice of Nathaniel Currier, Henry B. Major, and created Sarony & Major lithography firm. Joseph F. Knapp (1832-1891) joined the firm in 1857. Sarony, Major & Knapp earned a solid reputation for lithography, and the company was especially known for its fine art chromolithography. Sarony left the firm by 1867 and by the 1870s, the firm shifted had focus to the more profitable area of advertising. It also expanded to become the conglomerate known as the American Lithographic Company, successfully producing calendars, advertising cards, and posters. In 1930 it was bought out by Consolidated Graphics.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1867
issuer
Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church
maker
Major & Knapp Engraving, Manufacturing & Lithographic Company
ID Number
DL.60.2925
catalog number
60.2925
accession number
228146

Hair Flowers

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855 - 1885
ID Number
DL.022467.0001D
catalog number
022467.0001D
accession number
22467

Hair Wreath

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
1855 - 1885
ID Number
DL.022467.0001A
catalog number
22467.0001A
accession number
22467

Eve and the Serpent

Color woodcut on parchment-like paper. Naked woman and serpent in lush setting with twining vegetation. Printed by Frank Morley Fletcher from five wood blocks designed by John D. Batten, 1895. Edition: no. 58. Annotated in pencil in lower margin: "No. 58 John D. Batten. 1895.
Description
Color woodcut on parchment-like paper. Naked woman and serpent in lush setting with twining vegetation. Printed by Frank Morley Fletcher from five wood blocks designed by John D. Batten, 1895. Edition: no. 58. Annotated in pencil in lower margin: "No. 58 John D. Batten. 1895. First finished example made in Japanese style in England. Printed by F. Morley Fletcher."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1895
original artist
Batten, John Dickson
ID Number
GA.05623
catalog number
05623
accession number
32331

Camp Meeting by Alexander Rider

This black and white drawing depicts a large revival meeting, with tents in the background and a large wooden pulpit in the foreground. Camp meetings were a popular form of Protestant worship throughout the 19th century.
Description
This black and white drawing depicts a large revival meeting, with tents in the background and a large wooden pulpit in the foreground. Camp meetings were a popular form of Protestant worship throughout the 19th century. Lasting several days, these open-air events often involved ecstatic communal prayer. Hundreds and even thousands came from miles around for preaching and worship, and to enjoy the festival-like atmosphere. A large crowd is depicted as gathered in the foreground. Some people are sitting on benches, while others kneel on the ground or stand listening to a preacher.
This drawing is not dated but was produced by Alexander Rider, Alexander Rider was a German or Swiss born artist, colorist and engraver. He is believed to have arrived in the United States in the early 1800s and worked for the next two decades in Philadelphia as a book illustrator, miniature and portrait artist and painter specializing in historical themes. By 1830 he had begun doing lithographic prints for Kennedy and Lucas. He continued working in printing in the 1840s and produced plates for a book on American natural history. This drawing was produced into lithographs which are in the collection (DL.60.2957 and Dl.60.2961).
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1832
maker
Rider, Alexander
ID Number
DL.60.2960
catalog number
60.2960
accession number
228146

The Good Samaritan

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
graphic artist
Bourdon, Sebastien
ID Number
GA.09156
catalog number
09156
accession number
29855

American Methodism. 1872 by L Hollis and John Chester Buttre

This black and white print contains twenty-nine small oval portraits of leaders of American Methodists and five vignettes.
Description
This black and white print contains twenty-nine small oval portraits of leaders of American Methodists and five vignettes. The vignettes are of John Wesley rescued from a burning building; Wesley preaching on the tombstone of his father; Old John Street Church, New York; Tremont Street Methodist Church, Boston; and Pioneer Preacher (the central vignette).
John Wesley (1703-1791) was the founding founder of the Methodist faith. One of England's greatest spiritual leaders, he played a major role in the revival of religion in 18th Century English and Scottish life. He graduated from Christ Church College, Oxford University, in 1720 and later became a fellow. While at Oxford, he became active in a religious club nicknamed the “methodists” by its critics because of their methodical study and devotion. Finding the Anglican bishops unsympathetic and unwilling to open their churches to him, Wesley began an itinerant ministry that lasted more than 50 years. Methodism had a significant impact on society. It brought religion to masses of people who, through the shifts of population brought about by the industrial revolution, were not being reached by the Anglican Church.
John Wesley, along with his brother Charles, first brought an evangelical brand of Anglicanism to colonial Georgia from 1735 to 1737. Years later, in February 1784, he chartered the first Methodist Church in the United States. Despite the fact that he was an Anglican, Wesley saw the need to provide church structure for his followers after the Anglican Church abandoned its American believers during the American Revolution. The Methodist church expanded rapidly across the American continent. The traditions of open-air services and circuit-riding preachers fit perfectly with the American frontier. By 1830, Methodists formed the largest denomination in the U.S.
This print was produced by the artist L. Hollis and lithographer John Chester Buttre. John Chester Buttre (1821-1893) was an American steel-plate engraver, lithographer and publisher. He was first studied drawing in his hometown of Auburn, New York, and moved to New York City in 1841. He produced thousands of engraved portraits of American political and military figures, which he published in a three-volume work entitled The American Portrait Gallery.
Nothing is known about artist L. Hollis.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1872
depicted
Wesley, John
engraver
Buttre, John Chester
artist
Hollis, L.
ID Number
DL.60.2958
catalog number
60.2958
accession number
228146

Jan van Neyen

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.15871
catalog number
15871
accession number
94830

Camp-Meeting by Hugh Bridport and and Kennedy & Lucas after a painting by Alexander Rider

This colored print depicts a large revival meeting, with tents in the background and a large wooden pulpit in the foreground. Camp meetings were a popular form of Protestant worship throughout the 19th century.
Description
This colored print depicts a large revival meeting, with tents in the background and a large wooden pulpit in the foreground. Camp meetings were a popular form of Protestant worship throughout the 19th century. Lasting several days, these open-air events often involved ecstatic communal prayer. Hundreds and even thousands came from miles around for preaching and worship, and to enjoy the festival-like atmosphere. A large crowd is depicted in the foreground. Some people are sitting on benches, while others kneel on the ground or stand listening to a preacher.
This print was produced by Kennedy & Lucas and Hugh Bridport from a drawing by Alexander Rider,
Alexander Rider was a German or Swiss born artist, colorist and engraver. He is believed to have arrived in the United States in the early 1800s and worked for the next two decades in Philadelphia as a book illustrator, miniature and portrait artist and painter specializing in historical themes. By 1830 he had begun doing lithographic prints for Kennedy and Lucas. He continued working in printing in the 1840s and produced plates for a book on American natural history.
William B. Lucas was a Philadelphia gilder who owned a looking glass and print shop. He established what was said to be the first commercial lithography firm in Philadelphia in 1828. Within a few months another gilder, David Kennedy, became a partner in the firm. The company continued until Lucas died in 1833. Alexander Rider was a German or Swiss born artist, colorist and engraver. He is believed to have arrived in the United States in the early 1800s and worked for the next two decades in Philadelphia as a book illustrator, miniature and portrait artist and painter specializing in historical themes. By 1830 he had begun doing lithographic prints for Kennedy and Lucas. He continued working in printing in the 1840s and produced plates for a book on American natural history.
Hugh Bridport (1794-1870) was a London-born engraver, lithographer, portrait painter and architect. He began his artistic career in England, where he exhibited miniatures at the Royal Academy in 1813. He followed his brother George to Philadelphia around 1816, and the two brothers went on to establish a drawing academy and became successful artists. Hugh Bridport was a founding member of the Franklin Institute, where he taught architectural drawing for six years. He worked in the lithography trade with Kennedy & Lucas and other Philadelphia firms. Although mainly a portrait lithographer, he drew the lithograph for "Camp-Meeting" from Alexander Rider's painting, and exhibited paintings at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and Artist's Fund Society. In the 1860 census he is listed as a "gentleman" with a personal estate worth $15,000 and in the 1870 census, before he died, he was listed as a merchant.
Date made
ca 1832
maker
Kennedy & Lucas
Rider, Alexander
Bridport, Hugh
ID Number
DL.60.2961
catalog number
60.2961
accession number
228146

Virgin Mary

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
nineteenth century
graphic artist
Keller, Franz
publisher
Verein zur Verbreitung religioser Bilder in Dusseldorf
ID Number
GA.14233.65
accession number
94830
catalog number
14233.65

Saint Receiving Monk's Habit

Abbé Jean-Claude-Richard de Saint-Non made this aquatint from a drawing by Jean Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) of an altarpiece by Guercino in the church of San Gregorio in Bologna, Italy.
Description
Abbé Jean-Claude-Richard de Saint-Non made this aquatint from a drawing by Jean Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) of an altarpiece by Guercino in the church of San Gregorio in Bologna, Italy. While visiting Rome, Saint-Non invited Fragonard, then at the French Academy in Rome, to accompany him on a tour of northern Italy to visit sites of historic and artistic interest. Fragonard made more than 300 sketches, some of which Saint-Non used as a basis for prints that were issued in Paris between 1770 and 1774.
Saint-Non, a wealthy amateur etcher assisted by Jean-Baptiste Delafosse, a professional printmaker, invented a successful aquatint process in 1765. In this process, the artist dusts rosin powder onto a copper plate, which is heated to adhere the rosin. The plate is then etched in acid to create a rough surface that captures the ink to provide tonal areas in the print.
The painting by Guercino (1591–1666) shows Saint William dressed in armor putting on a monk’s habit before Saint Benedict of Aniane. Saint William, formerly the Duke of Aquitaine, had fought bravely against Moorish invaders in Spain and France, but in 806 he retired from the world to become a monk in the monastery he had founded.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1772
original artist
Fragonard, Jean-Honoré
graphic artist
Saint-Non, Jean Claude Richard de
original artist
Guercino, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri
ID Number
GA.14830
catalog number
14830
accession number
94830

La Malinche

La Malinche, the title of this lithograph, was the indigenous woman who translated for Cortés between Maya, Náhuatl, and Spanish during his first years in Mexico.
Description
La Malinche, the title of this lithograph, was the indigenous woman who translated for Cortés between Maya, Náhuatl, and Spanish during his first years in Mexico. Considered either as a traitor or a founding mother by some Mexicans, La Malinche was Cortés's lover and the mother of his favorite son Martín. She and Moctezuma are also central figures in the Matachines dances that are performed in Mexico and New Mexico. Originally commemorating the expulsion of the Moors from southern Spain in 1492, the dance was brought to Mexico where it was treated as a means for Christianizing native peoples. The historical figure of La Malinche, known in Spanish by the name Doña Marina, is also credited for playing an almost miraculous role in the early evangelization of central Mexico. This print, made by Jean Charlot in the 1933, shows a young girl in the role of La Malinche, holding a rattle or toy in one hand, and a sword in the other. Jean Charlot, a French-born artist, lived and studied in Mexico in the 1920s and 1930s. He depicted stylized scenes from the daily life of Mexican workers, particularly indigenous women.
Description (Spanish)
La Malinche, título de esta litografía, fue la mujer indígena que interpretaba para Cortés entre los mayas, náhuatl y españoles durante sus primeros años en México. La Malinche, quien para algunos mexicanos es una traidora, mientras que otros la consideran la madre fundadora, fue la amante de Cortés y la madre de su hijo favorito, Martín. Ella y Moctezuma constituyen también los personajes centrales de las danzas matachines que se interpretan en México y Nuevo México. Al principio estas danzas conmemoraban la expulsión de los moros del sur de España, pero en 1492 cuando la danza llegó a México se la utilizó como medio para cristianizar a los pueblos nativos. Se le atribuye también a la figura histórica de La Malinche, conocida asimismo como Doña Marina, un desempeño casi milagroso dentro de la temprana evangelización de México. Esta ilustración, hecha por Jean Charlot en 1933, es la imagen de una niña representando a La Malinche, sosteniendo un sonajero o juguete en una mano y una espada en la otra. Jean Charlot fue un artista francés que vivió y estudió en México entre las décadas de 1920 y 1930, quien se dedicó a ilustrar escenas estilizadas de la vida diaria de los trabajadores mexicanos y en particular de las mujeres indígenas.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1933
ID Number
GA.23401
catalog number
23401
accession number
299563

Joseph the Prophet Addressing the Lamanites by Edward Williams Clay and Henry R. Robinson, 1844

This color print is a full-length portrait of Joseph Smith (1805-1844) , standing in the woods preaching to a group of Native American Indians.
Description
This color print is a full-length portrait of Joseph Smith (1805-1844) , standing in the woods preaching to a group of Native American Indians. Smith was the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often referred to as Mormon Church) and translator of The Book of Mormon which he holds in his left hand. Joseph Smith believed that Native American Indians were descended from the Nephite and Lamanite peoples, whose stories are told in The Book of Mormon. There is little evidence that Smith himself preached to Native American tribes, however others did at his behest until government officials pushed missionaries off reservation land. Before Smith’s martyrdom and the subsequent migration of the Mormon peoples to Utah, Smith attempted unsuccessfully to obtain legal government licenses to share The Book of Mormon with Native American tribes forcefully removed to western territories.
This print was produced by Edward Williams Clay and Henry R. Robinson. Edward Williams Clay (1799-1857) was an American painter, illustrator, and printmaker born in Philadelphia. He attended law school but left the legal field to become an engraver. In the late 1820s, he worked on a series of stereotypical racist prints entitled Life in Philadelphia depicting African American life. He also created portraits and sheet music covers, but after 1831 he specialized in political cartoons. He moved from Philadelphia to New York City in 1837 and often worked with Henry R. Robinson. Failing eyesight eventually led Clay to give up art, and he again relocated, this time to Delaware, where he worked as a court clerk. He died of tuberculosis in New York in 1857.
Henry R. Robinson was a caricaturist and lithographer active in New York City from about 1831-1851. He was listed as a carver and gilder from 1833-34, as a caricaturist from 1836-43 and as a lithographer and print publisher from 1843-51. In 1842 he was arrested for selling obscene pictures and books in his print and book shop. He was politically affiliated with the anti-Jackson Whig party which was made obvious by the wig silhouette used in 1838 as an advertising logo for his shop.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1844
depicted
Smith, Joseph
publisher
S. Brannan & Co.
maker
Robinson, Henry R.
Clay, Edward Williams
ID Number
DL.60.3141
catalog number
60.3141
accession number
228146

Hair Flowers

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855 - 1885
ID Number
DL.022467.0001E
catalog number
022467.0001E
accession number
22467

Saint Theodore

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
nineteenth century
original artist
Muller, Andreas
publisher
Verein zur Verbreitung religioser Bilder in Dusseldorf
graphic artist
Stang, Rudolf
ID Number
GA.14233.31
accession number
94830
catalog number
14233.31

Maternal duty

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1828
publisher
American Tract Society
ID Number
GA.01962.21
catalog number
01962.21
accession number
20800

Baptising Scene by Endicott & Swett

This exceptional colored print depicts a woman being baptized by a minister in the Hudson River, north of Manhattan. A large group of well-dressed, white Protestant parishioners are watching from the riverbank and a nearby dock.
Description
This exceptional colored print depicts a woman being baptized by a minister in the Hudson River, north of Manhattan. A large group of well-dressed, white Protestant parishioners are watching from the riverbank and a nearby dock. Three black children stand clustered together in the center foreground.
Roman Catholics view baptism as an essential sacrament to be performed as soon as possible after a child's birth. Some Protestants, by contrast, perform baptisms later as a conscious desire to receive God's word and commit to a faith so some Protestant churches wait to baptize members as older children or as adults as well as baptizing new members or converted adults. This print depicts baptism as a ceremony in which a person officially associates herself with the community of believers.
This print was produced by Endicott & Swett. George Endicott (1802-1848) was born in Canton, Massachusetts. During the 1820s, prior to his partnership with Moses Swett, he worked as an ornamental painter in Baltimore, Maryland. His partner Moses Swett (1804-1838) was born in Poland. He worked for the Pendleton lithography firm as an artist and draftsman from 1826 to 1828. The partnership Endicott & Swett began in 1830 in Baltimore. Shortly after establishing their business, the two partners moved to New York. In July of 1834 the partnership dissolved, and Swett continued to work on his own in New York from 1834-1837. Endicott stayed on as the head of the company until his death in 1848. His younger brother William Endicott (1816-1851) then took over. After William Endicott died in 1851 his son and wife ran the business as Endicott & Company until 1886.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1834
publisher
Van Valkenburgh, James
maker
Endicott & Swett
ID Number
DL.60.2973
catalog number
60.2973
accession number
228146

The Adoration of the Shepherds by unknown lithographer

This colored print depicts the Christ child in a manger surrounded by Mary, Joseph, and four shepherds. The shepherds are presenting gifts of a lamb and two doves. The Nativity scene is one of the most recognizable and popular images in Western art.
Description
This colored print depicts the Christ child in a manger surrounded by Mary, Joseph, and four shepherds. The shepherds are presenting gifts of a lamb and two doves. The Nativity scene is one of the most recognizable and popular images in Western art. The Bible contains two narratives of the birth of Jesus: Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-7. Of these, only Luke offers the details of Jesus' humble birth in a manger in Bethlehem. There is no information available about the artist, lithographer, or the publisher, however there appears to be a tiny indecipherable signature on the lower right.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
depicted
Jesus Christ
Joseph
Mary
maker
unknown
ID Number
DL.60.2967
catalog number
60.2967
accession number
228146

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