American Paintings 1750–1900

On View: West Building, Main Floor

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166 artworks on view.

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This painting shows a small stream surrounded by brown rocks and green foliage. Golden sunlight illuminates the scene, highlighting the vegetation, trees, hills, and sky in various shades of green, blue, and brown. The water of the stream is clear, showing the brown ground beneath while also reflecting some of the nearby greenery. The sliver of sky above the distant green mountain is bright blue, with a few wispy white clouds.

Scene in the Catskills

Paul Weber

1858

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  2014.136.108

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M64
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This is a painting of a woman reaching to pick a water lily from a pond. She is crouching atop a fallen log, leaning over to submerge her right hand in the water. She wears a long gray dress with a striped, brown cloth in the front like an apron, with a white cloth tied around her neck. She has pale skin and dark brown hair tied in an updo. As her face is pointed downward towards the water, her facial features are mostly obscured. In her left hand, she holds a cluster of other water lilies. The water surrounding the log is speckled with lily pads, more white lilies, and tall reeds. The water is mostly brown, with the reflection of the woman and the reflection of a blue sky at the bottom of the painting, although we can't see the sky itself. In the background, dark green plants and foliage surround the edge of the pond.

Gathering Lilies

Eastman Johnson

1865

Oil on board  Accession ID  2008.66.3

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M68
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A white man in military uniform rides a horse in front of a regiment of five rows of Black troops in this sculpture, which is painted entirely in gold. The artist created a shallow, stage-like space with an arched top so the men are sculpted in three dimensions, though they become more compressed as they move back in space. The men and horse face our right in profile in this view. The man on the horse has a pointed, straight nose and a goatee. He wears a cap with a flat top and narrow brim, a knee-length coat, gloves, and knee-high boots with spurs. He holds a thin sword down by the side of the horse with his right hand and holds the reins of the horse with his left. The horse’s head is pulled upward by the short reins, and its mouth is open around the bit. About twenty soldiers are lined up in rows beyond the horse, and they march in unison. They carry blankets rolled atop knapsacks, canteens, and rifles resting on their right shoulders. However, the details of how their uniforms bunch up around their equipment and the way their caps have been molded and fit is unique to each person. Their ages also vary from young and cleanshaven to bearded, older men. Two men carry furled flags near the back, to our left, and a drummer boy plays at the head of the regiment, to our right. All the men look straight ahead, their lips closed. A woman in a billowing robe floats above them under the arched top of the sculpture with her eyes closed. Her left arm is outstretched, and she holds a laurel branch and poppies close to her body with her right arm. An inscription in the upper right corner is created with raised capital letters: “OMNIA RELINQVIT SERVARE REMPVBLICAM.” A longer inscription is carved into the base along the bottom edge of the memorial, also in all caps: “ROBERT GOVLD SHAW KILLED WHILE LEADING THE ASSVLT ON FORT WAGNER JVLY TWENTY THIRD EIGHTEEN HVNDRED AND SIXTY THREE.” The artist’s signature is inscribed In the lower right corner, in smaller letters: “AVGVTVS SAINT GAVDEN M-D-C-C-C-L X X X X V I I I.”

The Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

1900

Patinated plaster  Accession ID  X.15233

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M66
This painting shows a woman standing outdoors, facing the left. She has pale skin, and her face is in shadow, obscured by a wide-brimmed flat white hat with a red stripe around the edge, tied with a black bow behind her head. She wears a long black dress with a fitted bodice, a bustle, and black lacy decorations. She has a red bag that appears to hang from her waist and wears tan gloves. In her hand she holds a small rectangular object that could be a small bag or closed book. She stands on a grassy field with a body of water in the background under the light blue cloudy sky. A small white sheep drinks from a saucer in the bottom left corner, and more sheep are visible grazing in the background on the right. A few white sailboats dot the calm water on the horizon.

Lambs, Nantucket

Eastman Johnson

1874

Oil on board  Accession ID  2012.89.3

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M68
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This painting depicts two whole oranges, a peeled orange, and a glass goblet filled with a dark orange liquid. The peeled orange is in the center, with the two whole oranges on either side. The glass goblet sits behind the oranges, partially hidden by the peeled orange. There are small orange rinds sitting at the bottom of the glass in the dark liquid. The objects rest on a light brown surface, and the wall behind them is black.

Still Life with Oranges and Goblet of Wine

John Frederick Peto

1880-1890s

Oil on artist's board  Accession ID  1999.79.32

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M69
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This painting depicts a black slate chalkboard with a wooden frame hanging from a nail on a wooden wall. Hanging from the same nail is also a white pipe and two boxes. The chalkboard is vertical, and its wooden frame has the words "CHEW," "TIGER," and "BRIGHT * SWEET" printed on it. The slate has words and drawings in white chalk on it, including a tic-tac-toe game, a simple tiger illustration with a label "A TIGER," two stick figures, three multiplication problems, and text reading "DEZE IZ DE KIND ME DAD UZEZ DERE BULLY," with the Zs standing in for a backwards S. Of the two hanging boxes, one is dark blue with black text, including the label "Cut Plug," and the other is white with teal designs, and is tied together with several long matches. The wooden wall behind the objects is a dark gray brown.

Slate, Pipe, Tobacco, and Box of Matches

Peter McCallion

c. 1890/1900

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  2015.19.195

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M65
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Slightly below us and at a distance, water gently laps at sandy beach that curves alongside massive, craggy outcroppings in this panoramic horizontal landscape painting. Scrubby grass and low-slung trees dot an area of gray rocks in the lower left corner of the painting. A vivid yellow and black insect lands on a nearly horizontal tree trunk close to us, and two women sit and stand on the rocks farther out. One wears a red shirt and holds a narrow yellow parasol, and the other wears a lilac-purple, full-skirted dress and a yellow cap. The outcroppings rise vertically just beyond the women. Dark green plants grow along a ridge to the left. The remains of logs or beams and perhaps cloth is near the breaking surf of the beach, at the bottom center of the painting. The beach curves in a C-shape and then turns back to create a point just beyond the outcroppings. The white sails of a few boats sit on the slate-blue water, which reaches back to the hazy horizon, which is about halfway up the composition. A few spots of bright white or gray clouds dot the otherwise washed out, ivory-white sky above. The artist signed and dated the lower left corner, “A.T. Bricher 1873.”

A Quiet Day near Manchester

Alfred Thompson Bricher

1873

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  2008.66.1

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M67
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About two dozen round, pale green plums tumble out of an upended square wooden box onto a reflective, dark brown surface in this horizontal still life painting. Many of the plums have a frosty sheen and about half of them lie in a pile within the basket. The other dozen spill out of the box onto the wood tabletop. Most have stubby stems, and one, closest to us, has a longer stem with two browning leaves. The leaves and round fruit create reflections on the polished wood surface. The box was made by weaving broad sheets of light wood into a square. The layers are visible along the upper edge, which faces us. There are a few dark spots and imperfections in the wood. An ice-blue cloth hangs behind the box and crinkles in folds along the table. The artist signed the work in the lower right, “J.Decker.”

Green Plums

Joseph Decker

c. 1885

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  1994.59.4

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M69
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More than three dozen pears clustered densely on leafy branches against a vivid blue sky fill this long, horizontal painting. Most of the pears are golden yellow and touched with blush pink on one side. Pieces of fruit hanging closer to the corners of the composition are darker green. The long leaves have smooth edges that come to points at both ends. Three wasps dig into a pear that looks partially devoured near the bottom center of the composition, and some of the leaves in that area have brown spots or holes. The artist signed the painting near the lower left corner, “J. Decker.”

Ripening Pears

Joseph Decker

c. 1884/1885

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  2004.29.1

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M69
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The painting features a large slice of yellow cake, a halved lemon, a glass of pale-yellow liquid with a slice of lemon and a straw in it, and a white plate filled with red raspberries. The objects are placed on a white tablecloth with the raspberries to the left, the lemon and cake in the center, and the glass to the right. The wall behind the objects is a teal blue on the right which fades to black towards the left edge.

Still Life with Cake, Lemon, Strawberries, and Glass

John Frederick Peto

1890

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  2014.18.37

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M69
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This sculpture is a large ceramic jar. It is made from brown, glazed material with a glossy finish. The jar is cylindrical with a wide opening at the top and two small, rounded handles near the rim. There are carved lines of text or markings around the upper portion of the jar near the rim.

Storage Jar

David Drake

1859

Alkaline-glazed stoneware  Accession ID  2023.2.1

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M65
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The sculpture is a relief depicting a reclining figure. The figure is shown in a dynamic pose, draped in flowing garments. The figure's arm is outstretched, with a slightly bent leg. The sculpture is made of a light beige or off-white material, likely plaster. The relief is a section with a curved top edge and rectangular shape. The figure's facial features, drapery, and hair are detailed with a smooth finish, contrasting with the textured background. The piece is mounted on a white surface.

Early Study of the Allegorical Figure for The Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

late 1880s

Plaster  Accession ID  X.15366

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M66

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