Floor plan

Style galleriesThe American Gilded Age

The American Gilded Age

Artist: Thomas Cowperthwaite Eakins, Sitter: Talcott Williams, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
A work made of pen and brown ink, with brush and brown ink, on cream pseudo-laid paper tipped onto cream wove paper.
Leaping Trout, by Winslow Homer, 1889
This is a painting depicting a bare-knuckle boxing match with two fighters in a ring surrounded by a crowd. Both fighters are men with light skin, and they wear no shirts. The fighter on the left wears orange pants with black dots, while the fighter on the right wears red pants with white dots. Behind these men are two other shirtless men wearing the same types of pants, as well as two other men wearing more formal attire, including jackets, vests, and hats. Outside the ring, a semi-circle of light-skinned men in formal attire watch the central fight. The setting is outdoors, with grass around the feet of the spectators and green hills in the background. Above the group, the sky is light gray.
This detailed painting shows two pink roses and a pink bud on a long, thin green stem with green leaves and small green thorns. The tall stem rises near the right edge of the painting, with some thin branches reaching out to either side. The largest rose is positioned near the top left corner of the painting, with the small bud right below it. The other large flower is right around the center of the painting. The background is a flat beige color.
Thomas Eakins
We Both Must Fade (Mrs. Fithian), by Lilly Martin Spencer, 1869
BALCONY

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Painting and design in the United States from the Civil War to 1910.

First room, north wall

  1. Artist: Thomas Cowperthwaite Eakins, Sitter: Talcott Williams, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
    Talcott WilliamsThomas Eakins, c. 1889Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
  2. A work made of pen and brown ink, with brush and brown ink, on cream pseudo-laid paper tipped onto cream wove paper.
    Study for "The Blue Girl: Portrait of Miss Elinor Leyland"James McNeill Whistler, c. 1879Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Leaping Trout, by Winslow Homer, 1889
    Leaping TroutWinslow Homer, 1889Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. This is a painting depicting a bare-knuckle boxing match with two fighters in a ring surrounded by a crowd. Both fighters are men with light skin, and they wear no shirts. The fighter on the left wears orange pants with black dots, while the fighter on the right wears red pants with white dots. Behind these men are two other shirtless men wearing the same types of pants, as well as two other men wearing more formal attire, including jackets, vests, and hats. Outside the ring, a semi-circle of light-skinned men in formal attire watch the central fight. The setting is outdoors, with grass around the feet of the spectators and green hills in the background. Above the group, the sky is light gray.
    Bare KnucklesGeorge A. Hayes, c. 1870/1885Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

First room, south wall

  1. This detailed painting shows two pink roses and a pink bud on a long, thin green stem with green leaves and small green thorns. The tall stem rises near the right edge of the painting, with some thin branches reaching out to either side. The largest rose is positioned near the top left corner of the painting, with the small bud right below it. The other large flower is right around the center of the painting. The background is a flat beige color.
    Pink RosesFidelia Bridges, 1875Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Thomas Eakins
    Portrait of Mrs. Helen Mac Knight (Portrait of a Mother)Thomas Eakins, (c. 1903)Courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution
  3. We Both Must Fade (Mrs. Fithian), by Lilly Martin Spencer, 1869
    We Both Must Fade (Mrs. Fithian)Lilly Martin Spencer, 1869Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  4. BALCONY
    BalconyRobert Frederick Blum, 1880Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Second room, south wall

  1. Thomas Eakins
    Portrait of Mrs. Thomas EakinsThomas Eakins, (c. 1899)Courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution
  2. Diving Cormorant, by Otto H. Bacher, 1900
    Diving CormorantOtto H. Bacher, 1900Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A young man with a peachy, ruddy complexion lies on his stomach in a wooden rowboat on a river, reaching forward to grasp the horn of a stag almost completely submerged in the rippling water with one hand. On the opposite riverbank, gold, rust, and scarlet-red trees span the width of this horizontal painting. The boy’s arms straddle the stern of the boat so one holds the antler with his right hand, closer to us, while the other clutches a rope with a loop at the end. He turns his face, mouth agape and cheeks flushed, over his right shoulder to look to our left, at a dog swimming toward the boat. The dog has white and caramel-brown markings, with dark brown ears. The boy wears earth-brown clothing and the front of his wide-brimmed hat is pushed up to reveal dark eyes and sable-brown bangs and brows. The stag and dog are between us and the boat, and are surrounded by thick brushstrokes of parchment white to create ripples in the forest-green water. Only the open muzzle, part of the eye, and the tips of the stag’s antlers are above the water’s surface. To our right, a bare, fallen tree lies along the far riverbank parallel to the boat. The boat and water fill the lower half of the scene and the autumn trees fill the upper half. The artist has signed and dated the painting in the lower right, “Winslow Homer 1892.”
    Hound and HunterWinslow Homer, 1892Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. A work made of brush and black gray wash heightened with white gouache over graphite, on cream laminate board.
    "As They Threw their Animals Back upon their Haunches," illustration for An Arabian Day and Night, in Harper's New Monthly MagazineFrederic Remington, n.d.Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Second room, north wall

  1. The Stubble Field, by Henry Golden Dearth, c. 1909
    The Stubble FieldHenry Golden Dearth, c. 1909Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. James Abbott McNeill Whistler
    Girl in Black (Pouting Tom)James McNeill Whistler, (1896-1901)Courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution
  3. A woman with smooth, pale skin and wearing a hat, long dress, and gloves, stands holding a bunch of pumpkin-orange leaves against a background of trees painted with touches of rust orange and pine green in this vertical painting. The woman tips her head back slightly to look at us with dark eyes under arched eyebrows. Her cheeks are flushed and her coral-pink lips closed. Her round black hat perches on the back of her head and she has an inky black, long-sleeved, hip-length jacket with bronze trim at the shoulders, cuffs, and down the front. A gauzy bow is tied at her neck. Her left elbow, on our right, is bent and she holds up her tan-colored, ruffled skirt with a white-gloved hand. The raised skirt exposes sky-blue lining and white, ruffled flounces at her feet. Her right arm, on our left, hangs at her side and holds the handle of a basket. Deep marigold-orange leaves cascade out of the basket. One black shoe peeks out from under her long skirt. She stands on a hill carpeted with crimson-red, tawny-brown, golden yellow, and forest-green leaves. The space behind her is filled with touches and dabs of red, orange, brown, black, and tan.
    AutumnWinslow Homer, 1877Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. The image shows a street scene from an elevated viewpoint. A horse-drawn carriage is seen moving on a wet road, reflecting light. Pedestrians with umbrellas populate the avenue. The road is visibly marked with rainwater. The skyline displays detailed architectural features like church spires and towers. The painting is done in fine, linear brushstrokes highlighting movement and atmosphere. The grayscale palette emphasizes the rainy urban setting. Wisps of steam or smoke are visible. The intricate line work and shading depict a textured, busy street under an overcast sky.
    Rainy Day, BostonChilde Hassam, 1886Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington