Art
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.
759
Page 1 of 38
-
Drum Mountain Center, Utah
- Description
- "Drum Mountains -Ctr. Utah"
- In 1943, Akio Ujihara along with another internee found a large meteorite just 16 miles west of Topaz Relocation Center at the Drum Mountains. The pair was searching for rocks to use in jewelry when they discovered the 1,164 pound meteorite. Ujihara, who had received a degree from Polytechnic Engineering College at Oakland prior to internment, asserted that this was a unique find that should be studied by the Smithsonian Institution. The meteorite was shortly thereafter delivered into the museum’s possession, and is today in the Natural History Museum’s Collections.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1945-08-27
- maker
- Ujihara, Akio
- ID Number
- 1986.3047.10
- catalog number
- 1986.3047.10
- nonaccession number
- 1986.3047
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Feed a Fighter
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1917 - 1921
- artist
- Morgan, Wallace
- ID Number
- 1986.3051.12
- catalog number
- 1986.3051.12
- nonaccession number
- 1986.3051
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Manzanar War Relocation Ctr., 1942
- Description
- "Manzanar War Relocation Ctr., 1942"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1943-12-12
- maker
- Ujihara, Akio
- ID Number
- 1986.3047.07
- catalog number
- 1986.3047.07
- nonaccession number
- 1986.3047
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Deep Snow Topaz 1943
- Description
- "Topaz 3-15-44"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1944-03-15
- maker
- Ujihara, Akio
- ID Number
- 1986.3047.09
- catalog number
- 1986.3047.09
- nonaccession number
- 1986.3047
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
One of the Thousand Y.M.C.A.Girls in France
- Description
- One of the Thousand Y.M.C.A. Girls in France. American World War I poster by artist Neysa McMein for the Y.M.C.A. United War Work Campaign, 1918. Depicted is a Y.M.C.A. canteen worker in uniform holding a steaming cup in her right hand and a stack of books in her left hand. Behind her is the red triange symbol of the YMCA.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1918
- ID Number
- 1986.3051.04
- catalog number
- 1986.3051.04
- nonaccession number
- 1986.3051
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
"Enlist in a Proud Profession ... U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps" Poster
- Description
- Physical Description
- Four-color print on paper.
- Specific History
- The Division of Military History and Diplomacy has been collecting recruiting posters for more than fifty years. Recruiting as an activity of the military is important to the understanding of who serves in uniform during both war and peace and the visual materials used to market military service. The collection contains examples of early Civil War broadsides; World War I posters, including the original artwork for Uncle Sam as drawn by Montgomery Flagg; and World War II posters, which show the recruiting of men and women for all services and auxiliary organizations. The collection contains primarily Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II recruiting posters for the army, navy and some marines. More modern-day recruiting materials are also contained in the collection, and cover a broad range of army recruiting slogans.
- General History
- Posters during World War II were designed to instill in people a positive outlook, a sense of patriotism and confidence. They linked the war in trenches with the war at home. From a practical point, they were used to encourage all Americans to help with the war effort. The posters called on every man, woman, and child to endure the personal sacrifice and domestic adjustments to further the national agenda. They encouraged rationing, conservation, and sacrifice. In addition, the posters were used for recruitment, productivity, and motivation as well as for financing the war effort. The stark, colorful graphic designs elicited strong emotions. The posters played to the fears, frustrations, and faith in freedoms that lingered in people's minds during the war.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1942
- associated dates
- 1942
- distributor
- United States. Office of War Information
- printer
- US Government Printing Office
- issuing authority
- U.S. Public Health Service
- ID Number
- 1977.0020.041
- catalog number
- 1977.0020.041
- accession number
- 1977.0020
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Out Skirt - Manzanar, 1942
- Description
- "Manzanar 1-16-1944"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1944-01-16
- maker
- Ujihara, Akio
- ID Number
- 1986.3047.08
- catalog number
- 1986.3047.08
- nonaccession number
- 1986.3047
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
The Girl on the Land Serves the Nation's Need
- Description
- The Girl on the Land Serves the Nation's Need. American World War I poster by artist Edward Penfield for the Y.W.C.A. Land Service Committee. Depicted are four women in uniform walking through a field, carrying tools and a basket of produce while leading a team of horses.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1917 - 1921
- ID Number
- 1986.3051.01
- catalog number
- 1986.3051.01
- nonaccession number
- 1986.3051
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
The Long Hill 75 Regiment Near Liny Devant Dun 1918
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- Circa 1918
- ca 1918
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917 - 1918
- associated person
- Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
- Stanley-Brown, Katharine
- artist
- Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
- ID Number
- AF.59709M
- catalog number
- 59709M
- accession number
- 216896
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Machine Gunners at Pomme - St. Mihiel Salient
- Description
- A charcoal and watercolor drawing on paper of a German soldier surrendering at Pomme in the St. Mihiel Salient in France. The German soldier is standing at right with his arms raised in surrender. He is wearing an olive drab coat and gray pants and has a bag and cannister srapped across his chest. Another German soldier, apparently dead, is lying on the ground at his feet. Next to the dead soldier is a machine gun ammunition belt. A third dead soldier is visible behind the surrendering soldier. The soldiers are situated in a pile of rubble from a collapsed wall behind them. A village, presumably Pomme, can be seen in the distance at left. Beneath the drawing at left is written in pencil by the artist "We found some machine gunners / at Pomme - St. Mihiel Salient"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- associated date
- 1917 - 1918
- associated person
- Dunn, Harvey Thomas
- artist
- Dunn, Harvey Thomas
- ID Number
- AF.67522M
- catalog number
- 67522M
- accession number
- 229290
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Sept. 26, The Argonne
- Description
- A charcoal and watercolor drawing on paper of a machine gun encampment formerly occupied by the Germans and now taken over by the Americans. At center are three dead German soldiers in forest green uniforms lying on the ground in front of a small doorway. A machine gun (MG 08/15) is lying on top of one of the Germans. In the background at right, several American soldiers wearing olive drab uniforms are coming through a trench headed towards the encampment. Scattered throughout the encampment are discarded pieces of German military equipment. At left is a box of stick grenades (Model 24 Stielhandgranate). Below that is a shovel and a rifle (possibly a Gewehr 98). At bottom center is a helmet and a German officer's hat. At bottom right is an ammunition belt for a machine gun along with a knife that was probably a bayonet (Seitengewehr). Written in pencil at bottom left by the artist is: "Study - Sept 26 (The Argonne)"
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- artist
- Dunn, Harvey Thomas
- ID Number
- AF.67525m
- accession number
- 229290
- catalog number
- 67525M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
A Bois Fleury Devant Crasune
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1915-04-02
- associated date
- 1914 - 1918
- ID Number
- ZZ.RSN82658W83
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
drawing
- Location
- Currently not on view
- associated date
- 1914 - 1918
- ID Number
- ZZ.RSN82658T11
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
July 17 1918
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- 1918-07-17
- Circa. 1918
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917 - 1918
- associated person
- Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
- Stanley-Brown, Katharine
- artist
- Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
- ID Number
- AF.59718M
- catalog number
- 59718M
- accession number
- 216896
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Battle of Gettysburg Lithograph
- Description
- Physical Description
- Lithographic print.
- General History
- The Battle of Gettysburg was a critical turning point in the American Civil War. During the first three days of July 1863, over 172,000 men and 634 cannons were positioned in an area encompassing 25 square miles. An estimated 569 tons of ammunition were expended and, when the battle had ended, the losses topped 51,000 in dead and wounded soldiers on both sides. While the Confederate army retreated after Gettysburg, the war would drag on another two years. It would be the most costly battle ever fought on U.S. soil. The battle was commemorated by Abraham Lincoln’s legendary address. Lincoln stated: “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who died here that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have hallowed it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” The world has remembered both the battle and Lincoln’s eloquent words.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1884
- maker
- Kurz & Allison-Art Studio
- ID Number
- AF.65353M
- accession number
- 226765
- catalog number
- 65353M
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
The Road between Jaulgonne and Mount St. Pierre
- Description
- A charcoal, pastel, and watercolor drawing on paper of a road between Jaulgonne and Mount St. Pierre, France, during the Second Battle of the Marne on July 22, 1918. Depicted are two ammunition trucks driving along the war torn road. The truck at the back is partially obscured by fog or smoke in the background. On the right, a dead American soldier is lying on the side of the road nexxt to a tree stump. His helmet is lying in the middle of the road. On the left, an American soldier is kneeling on the side of the road by a wooden cross. An explosion of yellow, red, and black smoke rises into the air behind him. Written at the bottom by the artist in pencil is: "Sketch. The road between / Jacqluer [sic] & Mont St. Pierre / on the Marne. July 22, / 1918. / One of Col. [illegibile]s Racehorses / These ammunitions trucks went / where ambulances could not and / served the double purpose of ammunitions / carriers and ambulances."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917 - 1918
- associated person
- Dunn, Harvey Thomas
- artist
- Dunn, Harvey Thomas
- ID Number
- AF.67523M
- catalog number
- 67523M
- accession number
- 229290
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Soldier's Memorial Spanish American War of 1898
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1898
- associated date
- 1898
- ID Number
- ZZ.RSN82660W23
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Bridge at Dun-Sur-Meuse - Built by the Enigneers - 1918
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- Circa 1918
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917 - 1918
- associated person
- Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
- Stanley-Brown, Katharine
- artist
- Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
- ID Number
- AF.59726M
- catalog number
- 59726M
- accession number
- 216896
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
305 M/M Gun
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1918
- Circa 1918
- ca 1918
- associated date
- 1917 - 1918
- associated person
- Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
- Stanley-Brown, Katharine
- artist
- Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
- ID Number
- AF.59714M
- catalog number
- 59714M
- accession number
- 216896
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
75 M/M Gun Battery
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1918
- 1918
- Circa 1918
- associated date
- 1917 - 1918
- associated person
- Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
- Stanley-Brown, Katharine
- artist
- Stanley-Brown, Rudolph
- ID Number
- AF.59713M
- catalog number
- 59713M
- accession number
- 216896
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Pages
Filter Your Results
Click to remove a filter:
- data source
-
topic
- Military 743
- Art 462
- Official Art from the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I 327
- Combat Art 297
- World War I Art 297
- World War, 1914-1918 292
- World War, 1939-1945 47
- Operation Iraqi Freedom 35
- Distinguished Service Medal 28
- Soldiers 26
- Firearms 18
- Church buildings 17
- Distinguished Service Cross 17
- Advertising 14
- Japanese American Internment Era 12
- Landscapes 12
- Politics 9
- Prisoners of War 9
- Animals 8
- Horses 8
-
object type
- Sketches 368
- Paintings 229
- Drawings 102
- Photographs 39
- Posters 15
- Sketch; Mixed Media 15
- painting; art/graphics 12
- Sketch; Pencil 6
- Poster; Army 5
- Sketch; Charcoal 5
- Prints 4
- Sketch; Pastel 3
- sketch; Mixed Media 3
- sketch; Pencil 3
- sketch; Pencil and Ink 3
- Broadsides (notices) 2
- Certificates 2
- Scroll sketch 2
- Watercolors (paintings) 2
- sketch; Charcoal 2
- date
-
place
- France 369
- Grand Est 170
- Germany 63
- Hauts-de-France 57
- Rhineland Palatinate 52
- Château-Thierry 29
- United States 23
- Bourgogne-Franche-Comté 20
- Europe 15
- Neufchâteau 14
- Centre-Val de Loire 13
- Chaumont 13
- Koblenz 13
- Bar-sur-Aube 11
- Luxembourg 11
- Montabaur 11
- Île-de-France 10
- Badonviller 9
- Marne 9
- Pays de la Loire 9
- culture
-
set name
- Military 743
- Official Art from the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I 327
- Combat Art 297
- World War I Art 297
- Advertising 14
- Japanese American Internment Era 12
- Princeton Posters 8
- ThinkFinity 5
- National Museum of American History 2
- Price of Freedom 2
- Religion 2
- Transportation 2
- Pershing War Office 1
- Work 1
